One Of Ayrton Senna’s Most Famous F1 Cars Is Coming Up For Sale

When an F1 career is as celebrated and mythologised as that of Ayrton Senna, there are bound to be moments that become part of the sport’s collective psyche. That almost zen-like qualifying lap at Monaco in 1988 and his controversial collision with teammate Alain Prost at Suzuka the following year are just a couple of the many standouts.

But perhaps the most memorable moment in Senna’s career came at his home race in Brazil in 1991, a race where victory had so far eluded him despite seven years in the sport and two championships under his belt.

That year, Senna’s McLaren lined up on pole, but spent much of the race being hustled by the Williams of Nigel Mansell. A puncture and eventual gearbox issues meant Mansell never got the chance to catch him, but with just 10 laps remaining, Senna wasn’t out of the woods yet – his own gearbox was on its last legs, with the car gradually losing third, fourth and fifth.

Not only that, but it was beginning to rain hard. With just a couple of laps left, Senna managed to force the McLaren into sixth and limp it around a slick Interlagos with Ricardo Patrese’s Williams closing in fast. In an almost unbelievable display, though, Senna held off Patrese and brought the poorly McLaren home in first.

The resulting footage, you’ve probably seen. Senna’s animal screams over the radio, a mixture of ecstasy and release; the crowd jumping up and down in unison as their local hero finally takes victory in his home race. So brutal was the effort from Senna to keep the lead that medical staff had to help him out of the car and he visibly struggled to lift the trophy on the podium, and the win remains one of the most emotional moments in F1 history.

Which makes it all the more remarkable that the exact car that, despite the best efforts of its gearbox, took Senna to that victory is up for sale. It’s chassis number one of the 1991 McLaren MP4/6, the model that would go on to take Senna to his third and final championship that year, and the last championship-winning F1 car with both a V12 engine and H-pattern manual gearbox.

Better yet, this isn’t one of those F1 car sales that’s just an empty chassis. Prior to it last being sold in 2020, McLaren specialist Lanzante gave it a full recommission, bringing its screaming 3.5-litre V12 right back to race-ready condition. As part of the sale – being handled by RM Sotheby’s as one of the auctioneer’s private ‘Sealed’ auctions – it’ll be sent back there for another inspection so it can be run in anger, should its new owner desire.

Said new owner will, unsurprisingly, require very deep pockets. RM Sotheby’s puts the estimate at between £9 million and £11.5 million. Should it hit the upper end of that range, it’ll put the car right up among the most expensive Formula 1 cars to ever publicly change hands. Really, though, that shouldn’t come as a big surprise.