The F1 car driven to victory by the late Ayrton Senna at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1993 is set to be sold at auction.

The McLaren-Ford MP4/8A took Senna to Formula One career win number 39 out of 41 on 23 May 1993, just 12 month's before the three-time world champion lost his life at the San Marino Grand Prix.

His win at the Monte Carlo circuit goes down as one of his finest feats, tallying up his record-breaking sixth race win at the iconic street circuit - so it's no surprise that it's predicted to sell for at least €5million (£4.3million) when it goes under the hammer later this year.

If that price is too steep to get your hands on an iconic race car driven by a legend, you might be more interested in the ex-Colin McRae Ford Focus rally car being sold in the UK next month.

Record-breaking racer: The McLaren-Ford MP4/8A secured Senna his 6th race win at Monaco, eclipsing the previous record of 5 held by Graham Hill

Fast forward 25 years from Senna's final win at the principality and the Marlboro-liveried single seater will be sold to the highest bidder at the Bonhams Monaco sale on 11 May, in advance of this year's running of the famous race.

The auctioneer said the car is 'startlingly well-preserved' and in 'running order' despite being as old as Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren's number two driver for the 2018 season.

Fans will remember '93 as Senna's last campaign with McLaren after a successful six-year partnership.

The British race team - which still operates out of its headquarters in Woking - had terminated it's deal with Honda at the end of the 1992 season and had signed an agreement to run Peugeot engines from 1994.

In limbo for 1993, McLaren partnered with Ford to run its V8 Cosworth engine for a single season, though Senna was sceptical that it would compete with the V10 Renault motor in the Williams, being driven that year by fierce rival Alain Prost.

Senna eventually consented to remain with McLaren on a race-by-race basis, in return for a rumoured $1million fee for every start.

Senna had crashed heavily in qualifying but still managed to put his Marlboro-liveried car on the second row of the grid and take the overall win

The car is set to be sold at auction at Bonhams Monaco sale on 11 May, with the auction house declaring that it will achieve more than €5million

The car is said to be 'well-preserved' and still in running order despite being 25 years old

However, despite the Brazilian's early concerns, the car demonstrated such technological and mechanical sophistication that by the end of the season the he had racked up five wins, dominating the final two races of the championship.

Senna drove this car - McLaren-Ford MP4/8 chassis number 6 - in no fewer than eight of the races that year including Canada (18th), France (4th), Britain (5th), Germany (4th), Belgium (4th) and Italy (DNF).

However, the victory at Monaco will be the most fondly remembered, not least because he managed to win after crashing the car heavily in practice, badly damaging his thumb.

The Ford powered car was driven by Senna in eight of the races in the 1993 season

Senna drove the car to 5th position at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on 11 July 1993

Senna pictured during a wet qualifying session for the British Grand Prix in the car soon to be sold at auction

That win would be Senna's sixth at the circuit, breaking the previous record held by Graham Hill for 24 years.

Commenting on the car's availability at auction in May, Mark Osborne, Bonhams global head of motorsport, said: ‘Ayrton Senna was the most charismatic Grand Prix car driver of the modern era, and the MP4/8A was the car with which his team, McLaren, surpassed Ferrari as the most successful team in Formula 1 World Championship history.

'This particular chassis, number 6, cemented Senna’s legend as The Master of Monaco. We at Bonhams are both honoured and thrilled to be presenting one of the most significant Grand Prix cars of all time. It is his Monaco winner, it is a runner, and now it could be yours.’

Ayrton Senna lost his life in May 1994 in a crash during the San Marino Grand Prix in his first season with the Williams team

This Benetton-Ford sold at the same Bonhams Monaco event last year for almost £1 million. It was the car piloted by 7-time world champion Michael Schumacher to his first of 155 podiums

Last year, Bonhams parted with another F1 car at the Monaco sale - a Benetton-Ford driven by Nelson Piquet, Martin Brundle and Michael Schumacher during the 1991 and 1992 seasons that sold for £929,241.

It was that car that Schumacher - an eventual seven-time F1 champion - piloted to his first of 155 podium finishes in the Mexico City Grand Prix in '92.

The auction house expects the Senna McLaren to eclipse that figure four times over when it goes under the hammer in May 2018.

How Senna won the race with an injured thumb Senna had badly damaged his thumb in a qualifying crash, but still went on to take his record-breaking 6th Monaco win Senna was reportedly struggling to adapt to the car’s ultra-modern ‘active’ suspension system during qualifying for the race and suffered a violet crash into the barriers at Ste Devote corner. The incident unfolded so suddenly that he didn't have time to let go of the steering wheel in time, with the impact painfully injuring his thumb. Chassis 6 was then repaired in time for Saturday's qualifying session, where Senna placed third fastest behind Prost’s Williams-Renault on pole and Michael Schumacher’s Benetton-Ford second. In the race, Prost was penalised for a jump start, incurring a 10-second stop-go penalty in the pits, seemingly ending his chances of winning. Schumacher then led the race from Senna until lap 33, when the Benetton-Ford retired with a hydraulic failure. Senna took over the first-position slot and drove on to victory 15 seconds ahead of Damon Hill’s Williams-Renault. The result cemented the Brazilian's record as the most winning driver at the Monaco circuit, beating the previous record of five wins set in 1969 by Damon Hill's father, Graham.

Colin McRae's Ford Focus rally car also up for grabs

A 1999 Ford Focus WRC driven by the legendary Colin McRae in four rounds of the World Rally Championship will be sold in the UK as part of Silverstone Auctions' Race Retro Competition Car Sale next month.

The hammer is estimated to drop when bidding reaches between £120,000 to £140,000 for the iconic rally thoroughbred.

The car in question was piloted by McRae and co-driver Nicky Grist at the Rally Catalunya in Spain, Rally Tour De Corse in France, Rally Acropolis in Greece and Rally China.

It also competed at seven other rounds in the hands of McRae's team-mates Petter Solberg and Thomas Radstrom.

Colin McRae's 1999 Ford Focus WRC machine will go under the hammer in the UK next month

The car, pictured here during the Tour de Corse in France, is estimated to sell for up to £140k

Adam Rutter, classic car specialist at Silverstone Auctions, said the vehicle would be an important addition to anyone's motorsport collection, especially because it was a rare chance to own a genuine vehicle driven by fan-favourite McRae - arguably the most famous rally driver of them all.

'It’s an honour to present this ex-Colin McRae 1999 Ford Focus WRC for sale at our Race Retro Competition Car Sale on 23rd February,' Rutter said.

'The atmosphere at our auction will be electric and it goes without saying that we expect bidding to be flat-out, just like Colin behind the wheel.'

Scotland's Colin McRae with his Ford Focus WRC roars past spectators at Anavissos, Greece, on the super special stage on the first leg of the four-day 46th Acropolis Rally on June 6

Colin McRae (left) and co-driver Nicky Grist (right) pictured ahead of the 1999 season - their first with Ford after switching from Subaru

McRae is renowned for his no-fear driving style, perfectly captured here as he negotiates a hairpin at the Acropolis Rally

McRae was the youngest and the first British driver to win the World Rally Championship Drivers’ Title in 1995.

He tragically died in a helicopter accident in 2007.

The auction will take place at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire.