Ayrton Senna's Loyalty to Honda Blocks Him from Joining Williams at F1 1992

Ayrton Senna had a contract in place with Williams for the 1992 Formula 1 season, but ultimately decided to remain with McLaren due to his loyalty to Honda.

Although he won championships in 1988, 1990, and 1991 with McLaren, Senna considered his options for the following year, with his McLaren contract set to expire.

The prospect of joining Williams, who became a power-hungry newcomer to F1 that season with Renault engines, made Senna increasingly interested in switching teams.

He eventually stayed with McLaren for the following season, before confirming his move to Williams for 1994. Tragically, he passed away in a crash during the San Marino Grand Prix, which was the fourth round of the 1994 World Championship.

However, Senna's former manager, Julian Jakobi, has revealed that he might have made the switch to Williams as early as 1992 after receiving two contract offers for that season – one from his current team, McLaren, and one from Williams.

'Ayrton wanted to go to Williams, but he was loyal to Honda,' Jakobi said in the latest episode of the Beyond the Grid F1 podcast.

'His basic instinct was to go to Williams sooner, but he was loyal particularly to Mr [Nobuhiko] Kawamoto, who was the Honda president.'

'He was extremely close to him because Honda basically brought themselves and Ayrton to McLaren in 1988, and they won three championships together.

'Even at the end of '91, when he won his third championship, he didn't feel instinctively that Honda was like that, and he was worried about the future.'

'In 91, I remember going to Spa with two contracts for Ayrton: One for McLaren and one for Williams,' Jakobi continued.

'Ayrton knew he should be going to Williams, and we had both contracts ready to sign, and I thought on the Sunday morning that he would sign the contract with Williams.

'But he spoke to Kawamoto the night before in Japan and came on Sunday morning and said, 'I'll stay for another year.'

'So he stayed with McLaren for 92.'

'But he could have gone [to Williams] for 92 and Nigel may not have been there. And that was the year he won the championship. But when Ayrton stepped away, Mansell remained.'

Honda ultimately decided to end its F1 operations after the 1992 season, with McLaren subsequently switching to Ford engines.

The decision left Senna 'crushed' according to Jakobi, with the Brazilian driver considering whether to take a sabbatical from the sport in 1993, just like Alain Prost had done the previous year.

'Honda decided to withdraw, and they told Ayrton, I think three months before they told Ron [Dennis], and he was absolutely devastated,' Jakobi explained.

'Then we had to find a drive for '93. How close he was to not driving in 1993? The answer is close.'