Ask any Formula 1 driver out there who’s the guy that got him into motorsport, and chances are Ayrton Senna will be the most often-heard answer. Lewis Hamilton would definitely reply so. Fangio and Schumacher are icons in their own rights, but nothing beats the cult surrounding Senna.
The rivalry between the Brazilian driver and Alain Prost is the stuff of legend, but little did Ayrton know that he and the four-time World Champion would share their last podium in 1993. It was Senna’s last season for McLaren, and the racecar he drove was the successful MP4/8.
Though not as advanced as the Williams-Renault FW15C of Prost, the McLaren MP4/8 made the best out of the Ford 3.5-liter V8 and transverse semi-automatic transmission. Ayrton managed to finish 1st on five occasions, including the season concluder at the Adelaide Street Circuit.
Chassis 6 is the car pictured above, and Ayrton drove it in eight races. The reason it’s so damn special is the 1993 win at the Monaco Grand Prix. The race started with Senna on 3rd, making his way up to finish ahead of Damon Hill and Jean Alesi. Little did Ayrton knew that this was his last Monaco win, the sixth in a streak that started in 1987 with the Lotus 99T.
The single-seater will be offered at auction by Bonhams at the Les Grandes Marques A Monaco sale in May 2018, and as expected, there’s no estimate on the well-preserved racing car. After the car’s frontline career ended, the McLaren Formula 1 Team kept chassis number 6 as a spare for the Japanese and Australian Grand Prix races of the 1993 season.
2018 marks the 25th anniversary of Senna’s record-breaking Monte Carlo victory. A landmark achievement made possible by one of the best cars on the grid and arguably the best driver of his generation, whoever takes this particular MP4/8 home should cherish it like the valuable treasure of motorsport history it is.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News