The chassis that led Ayrton Senna to his first Brazilian Grand Prix victory will be auctioned in December.
Among his many legendary drives, the most famous for the son of São Paulo was Senna’s F1 victory at home in 1991 piloting a McLaren MP4/6 Honda.
Of all his impressive drives, Senna’s victory at the Interlagos circuit, powered by chassis MP4/6-1 and a naturally aspirated Honda V12 engine, was the most personal, having been achieved after ten frustrating attempts to climb to the top step of the podium in front of adoring fans.
Already a two-time Formula 1 world champion, Senna is the world’s biggest motor racing star and one of the most popular athletes in all sports, achieving his greatest feats under immense physical pressure. Rain fell in the final stages of the race, and a six-speed manual transmission failure left Senna exhausted after the 71-lap contest, with Riccardo Patrese in the state-of-the-art Williams FW14 Renault chasing the McLaren, which was using only top gear.
Left with a long sixth gear as the last surviving cog, Senna no longer had downshifts or engine braking at his disposal, leaving him with no choice but to slip the clutch in the slowest corners to synchronize the acceleration of the No. 1 MP4/6 chassis and use the car’s brakes elsewhere to maintain extraordinary speeds as the only way to slow down the failed car.
Although the difficult and impromptu task caused him extreme cramps, Senna’s efforts to fend off Patrese’s advances paid off and he finished 2.9 seconds behind Patrese. Senna went on to win races with the new MP4/6 en route to his third and final World Championship, and after the season, chassis No. 1 was placed in what is today known as the McLaren Heritage Collection, where it remained until a private sale in 2020.
Chassis No. 1 was “restored to running and running condition as a condition of the current owner’s purchase” and has not been shown or driven since purchase, having recently been serviced and started up by British McLaren specialist Paul Lanzante prior to auction.
RM Sotheby’s estimates that the car could sell for $12 million to $15 million by the end of the three-day bidding period from December 8th to 11th.
