Ayrton Senna's Monaco-Winning 1993 McLaren Is Going Up For Auction

1993 wasn’t the easiest F1 season for Ayrton Senna and McLaren. The Woking-based team had dominated F1 for the previous few years, only for Williams to change the game with the FW15C, which had active suspension, anti-lock brakes, traction control and much more besides. McLaren were no longer the sport’s top team.

But Senna, in what would be his last full season in F1, put in some incredible performances, ending up on the top step of the podium four times, beating Williams’ Damon Hill to second place in the drivers’ championship. One of these victories was at Monaco.

Here, he capitalised on a stop-go penalty and subsequent pit lane stall from Alain Prost plus a retirement for Michael Schumacher to bag his sixth Monte Carlo triumph. Now, the very car he drove that weekend could be yours. If you’re quite rich, of course.

The MP4/8A is question will be auctioned off by Bonhams, fittingly at the firm’s Monaco event on 11 May. The Cosworth V8-powered machine - chassis number six - competed in eight Grand Prix in total. It may not have been as advanced as the Williams, but it still had features like active suspension and traction control. In fact, the active suspension failed during a practice session at Monaco, causing a huge crash for Senna at Ste Devote in which he injured his thumb. The same car was rebuilt in time for Saturday qualifying.

There’s no mention of an estimate, but it’s expected to go for at least €5 million.