Ahead of the twentieth anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says the Brazilian wanted to drive for the legendary Italian team.

Indeed, Montezemolo says that the two discussed the matter just four days before his death in 1994.

"I always appreciated Ayrton’s style of racing," Montezemolo told his team's website. "As with all great champions, he had an incredible will to win and never tired of seeking perfection, trying to improve all the time. He was extraordinary in qualifying, but also a great battler in the races, when he always fought tooth and nail.

"He wanted to come to Ferrari and I wanted him in the team," he continued. "When he was in Italy for the San Marino Grand Prix, we met at my home in Bologna on Wednesday 27 April. He told me he really appreciated the stand we had taken against the excessive use of electronic aids for driving, which didn’t allow a driver’s skill to shine through.

"We spoke for a long time and he made it clear to me that he wanted to end his career at Ferrari, having come close to joining us a few years earlier. We agreed to meet again soon, so as to look at how we could overcome his contractual obligations at the time. We were both in agreement that Ferrari would be the ideal place for him to further his career, which to date had been brilliant, even unique.

"Unfortunately, fate robbed all of us of Ayrton and Roland Ratzenberger over one of the saddest weekends in Formula 1 history. Of Senna, I remember his kindness and his simple almost shy nature, which was in complete contrast to Senna the driver, a fighter always aiming for the best."

With Michael Schumacher joining Ferrari in 1996, it wasn't until 2000 that Ferrari was able to give him a car capable of winning the title. Ignoring the question as to whether Ayrton would have wanted to be in the same team as the German, one has to wonder if the Brazilian would really have wanted to move to a team which had last won the drivers' title fifteen years previous.

Chris Balfe