Here is a piece of motorsport history you can actually put in your garage, as Speedcafe reports. RM Sotheby’s has listed chassis FW16B-01 in New York, with a pre-sale estimate ranging from $4 million USD ($5.7 million AUD) to $6 million USD ($8.6 million AUD). This magnificent machine is one of only two surviving Williams FW16s driven by the three-time world champion during 1994, and its ownership history includes 30 years in the hands of the Senna family.
Senna drove the chassis, then known as FW16-01, in the warm-up for the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. It was the team’s spare car that weekend, meaning he competed in the race in a different Williams. During that warm-up, he recorded a faster lap than eventual race winner Michael Schumacher. He subsequently drove the chassis again in an April test at Jerez alongside teammate Damon Hill, with the car completing 842 kilometres across the test.
The auction comes more than three decades after Senna’s brief and ultimately tragic spell at Williams. Having left McLaren, where he had won three world championships, Senna joined the drivers’ and constructors’ champions in 1994. However, the removal of active suspension under revised technical regulations left Williams struggling to get the best from its new FW16. Despite those difficulties, Senna secured pole position at all three grands prix he entered for Williams.
He retired after spinning at the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix and was caught in a collision at the Pacific Grand Prix in Japan. His third start, at the San Marino Grand Prix, ended in the fatal accident at Imola while driving a different chassis, FW16-02. Senna’s Williams record therefore stands at three starts, three pole positions, no race finishes and no championship points. Following his death, Williams continued developing the FW16 and eventually secured the constructors’ championship, with Hill narrowly missing the drivers’ title to Schumacher by one point.
That victory fulfilled a provision in Senna’s contract granting him a Williams chassis in the event of a constructors’ title. The team honoured the agreement after his death, presenting FW16-01 to his family at the end of 1994. Before that handover, the car had been raced by two other drivers. David Coulthard made his Formula 1 debut in it at the Spanish Grand Prix, later securing fifth-place finishes in Canada and Britain. Nigel Mansell also raced it on his return to F1 at the French Grand Prix. Hill also tested the car and had it available as a spare on race weekends, meaning three world champions drove the same chassis.
After its final race at Silverstone, the car received upgrades to FW16B specification and continued in testing and spare-car duties through the remainder of 1994. It remained with the Senna family until 2024, when the current owner acquired it through RM Sotheby’s. The auction house says the car survives in unrestored condition, with Senna’s personal seat added during its years with the family. Its appearance at auction marks the first time the historically significant Williams has been offered for public sale.
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