Senna's 1994 Williams FW16 heads to auction for the first time

A Williams FW16 driven by Ayrton Senna during his final Formula 1 season in 1994 is going under the hammer for the first time. The chassis, FW16B-01, is being offered by RM Sotheby's in New York with an estimated price of between $4 million and $6 million.

The car is one of only two surviving FW16 chassis Senna drove in 1994. It was used as Williams' spare car at the Brazilian Grand Prix, and Senna took it out during a test at Jerez in April, sharing driving duties with Damon Hill. The chassis was not the one involved in Senna's fatal accident at Imola, which occurred in the car FW16-02.

After Senna's death, the car was driven by David Coulthard and Nigel Mansell, while Hill also tested it. Williams later presented it to Senna's family, in line with a contractual provision that entitled him to a team chassis if the team won the Constructors' Championship, which it did in 1994.