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For the first time, a car driven by the seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton of England is being put up for auction. Will be sold by McLaren MP4-25A RM Sotheby’s Saturday at the Silverstone circuit at the British Grand Prix weekend.
The car’s pre-sale estimate is between $5 million and $7 million.
Hamilton drove the car in 2010, winning three Grand Prix in Turkey. Canada and Belgium. He finished fourth in the drivers’ standings, 16 points behind Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.
“No Lewis Hamilton Formula 1 car has ever hit the public market before, and the fact that it’s a race-winner adds to the attention around it,” said Peter Haynes, RM Sotheby’s director of public relations and marketing.
“A British car driven by a British driver sold at a British Grand Prix. All of these go very well together.”
Haynes said the vehicle had been owned by someone “who had a particularly close relationship with McLaren” for several years. Due to a confidentiality agreement, the company will not disclose the owner’s name.
RM Sotheby’s worked with Formula 1 to provide the auction environment. On Saturday, the car will be driven on the track by Mika Hakkinen, who won two championships with McLaren in 1998 and 1999.
“With such a unique offering, we owe it to ourselves to find an interesting way to sell it,” Haynes said. “The easiest thing would be to put it at a traditional auction and put it on a pedestal while the auctioneer does his job.”
RM Sotheby’s held an auction on the starting grid of Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi ahead of the 2019 Grand Prix. Company sold A Ferrari F2002 used by Michael Schumacher of Germany for around $6.6 million.
Another Schumacher race car, the Ferrari F2001, was sold by RM Sotheby’s for $7.5 million in 2017. And in 2013, Bonhams auctioned off a 1954 Mercedes W196R driven by Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio, who won five championships in the 1950s. $29.7 million.
Kate Beavan, director of hospitality and experiences in Formula 1, said the auction at the British Grand Prix will be unique.
“We wanted to go even bigger at Silverstone and try something that has never been done before,” he said.
Formula 1 has created a live stream for the auction, which includes footage from inside the car and from the track.
“As well as making some history, it will be a great theatrical piece for fans and car enthusiasts everywhere,” Beavan said. Said. It’s been a new challenge for us to overcome, but that’s not a reason not to try and fail.”
Engineers and technicians from McLaren Racing’s IndyCar and Heritage division prepared the car for auction.
Division manager Mark Grain worked as an assistant chief mechanic on the car in 2010. “This car has so many good memories for me,” he said. “It really caught the eye when we launched it because it was so innovative.
“My best memory is the Turkish Grand Prix against Red Bull. We couldn’t believe it when the Red Bulls pulled each other out of the race and took one or two McLarens. It’s a pretty iconic moment for this car and an unforgettable moment in Formula 1 history.”
Haynes said the auction of a Hamilton car was different from the sale of Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, who died in 1994, or a car used by Schumacher because Hamilton was “still in the public domain.”
“As Hamilton cars will always be incredibly difficult to acquire, this is an opportunity for someone to buy a car that has won a race by the man who will likely remain the most successful Formula 1 driver in history.” said.
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