Ayrton Senna's first Monaco Grand Prix car
This is Ayrton Senna's first Monaco Grand Prix car, the 1984 Toleman-Hart TG184. In this car Senna exploded onto the Formula 1 scene, hunting down Monaco Grand Prix race leader Alain Prost, troubled by braking problems in atrociously wet, rain-soaked conditions, to challenge strongly for the race lead. It was only his sixth Formula 1 drive but Senna was closing so fast, a staggering 3 seconds a lap, it seemed inevitable that he would somehow find a way past the French superstar's more powerful McLaren-TAG Turbo and potentially win at Monaco in his first Formula 1 season.
He had started the race in ninth place, then splashed and plumed his way up through the field to establish himself in second place. He had closed the gap behind Prost to barely 7 seconds, when race director Jacky Ickx and Michel Boeri controversially had both the red flag and the chequered flag shown simultaneously, bringing the race to what many considered to be a premature end. Prost therefore took the win from Senna, the margin of victory being 7.446 seconds. In fact, when the red and chequered flags were both shown as the drivers reached the end of lap 32, Prost had slowed and hesitated just short of the finish line and Senna swept by, waving ecstatically, convinced that he had just won his first Grand Prix. As was customary in Formula 1, the race results would be declared as the positions at the end of the last previous lap, and so Prost was confirmed as the winner after 31 officially recognised laps, with Senna second.
Senna went on to win the Formula 1 Drivers' World Championship titles in 1988, 1990 and 1991 – he would also win the Monaco Grand Prix itself a record six times; in 1987, then for five consecutive years from 1989 to 1993.
Bonhams will be offering this very 1984 Toleman-Hart TG184 at their upcoming Monaco auction on the 11th May. Its estimated value is between €750,000 - €1,000,000. For more information on this and other vehicles at the sale, click on the link below. Photos courtesy of Bonhams.