One to Buy: ex-Ayrton Senna 1991 Brazilian GP-winning McLaren MP4/6 Honda
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After an enormously successful partnership with TAG Porsche that delivered three Driver and two Constructor titles between 1984 and ‘87, McLaren signed an engine supply deal with Honda for 1988.
That season, the Honda-powered McLarens won 15 out of 16 races, taking both Driver and Constructor championships in the process. This feat was repeated in 1989, ‘90 and ‘91 creating one of the most successful partnerships in F1 history.
Three of those Drivers’ titles were of course secured by the late, great Ayrton Senna and going under the hammer with RM Sotheby’s in a sealed bid auction closing on December 11th is the car that delivered arguably his most famous victory: the 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Chassis MP4/6/1 was the first of its type constructed and appeared in a series of pre-season tests at Estoril where both Senna and team-mate Gerhard Berger got their first taste of the new model.
Having started from pole and won the season opening United States Grand Prix in Phoenix using a sister MP4/6, round two saw chassis 1 called up to serve as Senna’s race car for his home event around Interlagos in what would be its only competitive outing.
That weekend, Senna took pole by just under three tenths of a second from the Williams Renault pairing of Riccardo Patrese and Nigel Mansell.
During the wet contest, Senna was continually hassled by Mansell until the Brit’s retirement on lap 59. However, Senna’s hope of a first victory on home soil seemed to be dashed when he began to lose gears and Patrese rapidly began to close.
Remarkably, despite ultimately becoming stuck in sixth gear, Senna brought chassis 1 home to win by less than three seconds.
MP4/6/1 was retained by McLaren until 2020 at which point it joined the consigning owner’s collection after a full recommission to race-ready condition by McLaren Heritage. It will return to Lanzante (McLaren Petersfield) for a further inspection and startup before being delivered to the new owner.
With an immaculate record of one race, one pole and one win in the hands of arguably the most celebrated driver ever to race, MP4/6/1 has to rank among of the most significant F1 cars of its era.
