Every year, each Formula One racing team makes several brand-new chassis, and retires the old ones. Most stay in the hands of the team and its partners, but some end up in private hands. That’s the opportunity presented here.
The car you see is a 1991 Benetton-Ford B191 that just happened to have been driven by two multiple world champions. The B191 was introduced three races into the season (replacing the B190B modified from the previous season), powered by a Cosworth HBA5 3.5-liter V8 supplied to Benetton in a works deal with Ford.
Brazilian driver Roberto Moreno had the honor of breaking in the car, the second chassis made, before handing it to his teammate Nelson Piquet. The senior driver (and father of Formula E champion Nelson Junior) who had by that time already won his three world titles, and was near the end of his career… but not before claiming one last checkered flag. Piquet drove this very car to victory in a hotly contested Canadian Grand Prix, which would be the last F1 win of his distinguished career.
Later that season, Moreno was replaced by a young Michael Schumacher, fresh from his debut at the Belgian Grand Prix. Schumi didn’t manage to finish those last two races of the season in this car, retiring from the grands prix in Japan and Australia. But he would go on to win two world championships with the team, and five more with Ferrari.
Following the season that ended with Ayrton Senna crowned champion (for the third time), the car was put on display in a museum. But it underwent a complete rebuild just last year, bringing it back to original condition (save for FIA-mandated safety upgrades), and is now going up for sale.
Bonhams will auction it off during no less fitting an event than the Spa Classic on May 21, when it’s expected to sell for €750,000-950,000. Place the right bid and you could have a grand-prix winner on your hands, placed on the same wheel as two of the world’s greatest living drivers.
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