F1's popularity is surging and demand for F1 cars on the public market is surging.
Here are the top 10 most expensive F1 cars to sell at auction:
10. 2004 Ferrari F2004
The F2004 took Schumacher to his seventh and final world title. This particular chassis (234) took Schumacher to the win in the Australian, Malaysian, Bahrain, Imola and Spanish Grand Prix.
Sold by Sotheby's in Maranello
Sold for £2,634,284 ($3,198,500) in 2005
9. 1991 Ferrari 643
Campaigned by French Formula 1 ace Jean Alesi and Gianni Morbidelli this chassis contested the Australian, British, and French Grands Prix in 1991, finishing 4th at Magny-Cours. What a car to take in its full running order to a plethora of historic racing events around the world.
Sold by RM Sotheby's in Paris
Sold for £3,255,092 ($4,031,947) in February 2023
8. 1993 McLaren MP4/8A
This is the very car in which Ayrton Senna too his record-breaking sixth and last Monaco Grand Prix win. It's also arguably one of the most iconic liveries in motorsport history. Not often does the opportunity to get your hands on a McLaren MP4 with matching numbers chassis, engine and gearbox from Senna's 1993 Monaco Grand Prix win.
Sold by Bonhams in Monaco
Sold for £3,693,800 ($5,009,296) in May 2018
7. 2010 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25
This is the first time a Lewis Hamilton F1 car has gone under the auctioneer's gavel. Hamilton steered it to victory at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix. This car also participated in the only year Schumacher and Hamilton crossed on track including a thrilling dice at the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix. RM Sotheby's put on a show when it was sold at the 2021 British Grand Prix having done a lap of the Silverstone Circuit on the Grand Prix weekend.
Sold by RM Sotheby's in Silverstone, England
Sold for £4,730,000 ($6,694,601) in July 2021
6. 1998 Ferrari F300
If you want a car that nows how to get to the chequered flag first, this is the one for you. This F300 ran in four races and won each time in Canada, France, Britain and Italy. Oh, and Schumacher steered the F300 to victory on each of those occasions. It is in fact the only Ferrari Formula One chassis to run at least three races and achieve victory in every single race entered. Alongside the sale RM Sotheby's threw in an unusual perk of a visit to the Paris Brain Institute and the Richard Mille Swiss watchmaking facilities in Switzerland. Make of that what you will...
Sold by RM Sotheby's in Monterey
Sold for £5,087,599 ($6,220,000) in August 2022
5. 2002 Ferrari F2002
This isn't a bad record... The F2002 raced 19 times, won on 15 of those occassions, took pole 15 times, pole 11 times along with 15 fastest laps.
Schumacher drove this F2002 to victory at the San Marino, Austrian, and French Grand Prix and placed it on pole at the Spanish Grand Prix. The purchaser of the vehicle took delivery of the car at Fiorano following an engine and transmissions rebuild at the consignor's cost.
Sold by RM Sotheby's in Abu Dhabi
Sold for £5,155,833 ($6,643,750) in November 2019
4. 2001 Ferrari F2001
Schumacher drove this car to two race wins in the 2001 season - including the Monaco Grand Prix - helping Schumacher on his way to his fourth world title. What's remarkable is that the sale price of $7.5m was more than double the previous world record price at the time set back in 2005 for $3.2m.
Sold by Sotheby's in New York
Sold for £5,697,787 ($7,504,000) in November 2017
3. 2003 Ferrari F2003-GA
You may have noticed the appending of '-GA' to the end of the traditional FYEAR structure used by the folks from Maranello. This is in honour of the late Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli who passed in January 2003 - check out our article here to see Agnelli's car that have gone under the hammer.
Boasting one of the final V-10s featured in Formula One, the car produces 930-bhp and a rev limit of an astonishing 19,000 rpm. Chassis 229 was the most successful of the six F2003-GAs that were built and it played the crucial role in powering Michael Schumacher to his sixth title - a total that took him past the long-standing record of five-time World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio.
Sold by Sotheby's in Geneva
Sold for £12,984,822 ($14,870,908) in November 2022
2. 2013 Mercedes-Benz AMG Petronas W04
There have been plenty of lists that have seen Lewis Hamilton overtake Schumacher and this is no different with Hamilton’s W04 fetching an astonishing £15.1m.
The chassis number 4, which was what Hamilton drove for his first Mercedes win in Budapest, was auctioned off during the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend by Sotheby’s and beat initial predictions of a $15 million price tag.
It became the second most expensive F1 car ever sold and was beaten only by another Mercedes.
Sold by RM Sotheby's in Las Vegas
Sold for £15,095,445 ($18,815,000) in November 2023
1. 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R
Prior to Mercedes-Benz's withdrawal from motorsport in 1955, the W196 was the F1 car to beat. This is the only W196 that is survivor not preserved within either Daimler-Benz or an International museum. Yet it is the most successful of all surviving W196s.
It is the only surviving Mercedes-Benz W196 to have won not just one World Championship-qualifying Grand Prix race, but two. It is the first open-wheel version of the landmark W196 design ever to have won a race, and it is the actual car in which Fangio clinched the second of his five Formula 1 Drivers' World Championship titles.
Aside from the paint finish and the replacement of some hoses the vehicle remains today as it was assembled and prepared by the factory prior to with withdrawal from motorsport on December 9th 1955.
When sold it was the most expensive car in the world at the time. Even now, almost 10 years on it still sits proudly as the 5th most expensive car sold publicly.
Sold by Bonhams at The Goodwood Festival of Speed
Sold for £19,601,500 ($29,633,548) in July 2013
There we have it, the top 10 most expensive F1 cars to sell at auction.
🚗 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R 💵 £19,601,500 🏛️ Bonhams
🚗 2013 Mercedes-Benz AMG W04 💵 £15,095,445 🏛️ RM Sotheby's
🚗 2003 Ferrari F2003-GA 💵 £12,984,822 🏛️ Sotheby's
🚗 2001 Ferrari F2001 💵 £5,697,787 🏛️ Sotheby's
🚗 2002 Ferrari F2002 💵 £5,155,833 🏛️ RM Sotheby's
🚗 1998 Ferrari F3000 💵 £5,087,599 🏛️ RM Sotheby's
🚗 2010 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 💵 £4,730,000 🏛️ RM Sotheby's
🚗 1993 McLaren MP4/8A 💵 £3,693,800 🏛️ Bonhams
🚗 1991 Ferrari 643 💵 3,255,092 🏛️ RM Sotheby's
🚗 2004 Ferrari F2004 💵 £2,634,284 🏛️ Sotheby's
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