FW16-01 was promised to the three-time world champion under his 1994 contract. Preserved by his family for 30 years, it is to be auctioned in New York.
A Williams Formula 1 car promised to Ayrton Senna before his death in 1994 is to be offered for sale by RM Sotheby’s.
The FW16-01 chassis, driven by Senna, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, and David Coulthard, will be a lead consignment at Sotheby’s The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction in New York on 16 November.
Senna’s contract stipulated that he could keep one of Williams’s cars if the team won the Constructors’ Championship in 1994. FW16-01 was the designated car. Following his death at the San Marino Grand Prix in May, Williams honored the agreement and gifted the car to his family.
The car remained in the family’s ownership for 30 years, although it stayed in Williams’s care and was displayed in the team’s museum. Preserved in unrestored condition, it was left untouched apart from the fitting of Senna’s seat. The current owner acquired it from the family through RM Sotheby’s Private Sales in 2024.
Designed by Adrian Newey and Patrick Head, the FW16 was powered by Renault’s RS6 V-10 engine. Senna drove FW16-01 during warm-up at the Brazilian Grand Prix, setting a lap faster than eventual race winner Michael Schumacher. He subsequently completed approximately 842 kilometers of testing with Hill at Jerez.
Following Senna’s death, the chassis returned to competition. Coulthard drove it to fifth-place finishes at the Canadian and British Grands Prix during his debut season, while Mansell raced it at the French Grand Prix, qualifying on the front row alongside Hill.
After its final race at Silverstone, the car was upgraded to B specification and taken to three further Grands Prix as a spare. Williams went on to win the 1994 Constructors’ Championship, fulfilling the condition in Senna’s contract.
