F1: Bernie Eccelstone Buys Ayrton Senna's McLaren For 4.1 Million Euros

Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone may not be actively running the show now, but the man certainly loves the sport. Ecclestone has purchased Ayrton Senna's 1993 Monaco Grand Prix winning McLaren F1 car for over 4.1 million Euros (around Rs. 33.18 crore), bringing home an iconic piece of the F1 history. It's also one of the highest prices paid for a modern day F1 car. The 1993 Monaco GP marked the Brazilian driver's fifth consecutive win at Monaco and sixth overall.

Also Read: Top 10 Facts About F1 Legend Ayrton Senna

Eccelstone bought Senna's McLaren at the Bonhams auction in Monaco last week for a price of 3.6 million Euros, which after the buyer's premium comes to a total of 4.1 million Euros. The Chassis MP4/8-6, comes complete with the Ford HB engine and gearbox used in Senna's historic win.

Senna's MP4/8-6 was previously with McLaren at Woking, UK and was among the few that were actually sold over a decade ago. The car was purchased by racer and car collector Aaron Hsu, who auctioned it last week. After a hard fought win at Monaco, the MP4/8A chassis 6 was raced again by Senna in that year's Canadian, French, British, German, Belgian and Italian GPs.

(Senna won five races in the 1993 F1 championship, and finished second in drivers' standings)

The McLaren MP4/8-6 was also used in several other races having finished fourth in Magny-Cours, Hockenheim and Spa, and a fifth place at Silverstone, after the driver ran out of fuel while competing in the third place. During the 1993 F1 championship, Senna secured five wins and six podiums that year, and was a runner-up overall behind Alain Prost. The car was also used in Montreal and Monza, and was the designated spare car for races in Adelaide and Suzuka.

Interestingly, the auction also had Senna's 1984 Toleman-Hart TG184 that sold for 1.6 million Euros (around Rs. 13 crore). The car had finished second in the 1984 Monaco GP and third at Brand's Hatch.

The MP4/8-6 joins Ecclestone's huge collection of historic F1 cars, which includes many of his Brabhams and bought others in auctions over the years. While Bernie certainly paid an outrageous amount for Senna's McLaren, the highest auction price for an F1 car actually rests with Michael Schumacher's 2001 Ferrari that was sold at an RM Sotheby auction last November for $7.5 million (around Rs. 50 crore).