Tag Archives: formula 1

Racing Point’s First F1 Car

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2019 Racing Point RP19

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 2, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The Force India Formula One team had some pretty major financial and legal issues surrounding its owner Vijay Mallya and went bankrupt in 2018. The assets of the team (which could be traced back to Jordan Grand Prix) were bought by a group led by Lawrence Stroll. Racing Point would compete in F1 for two seasons: 2019 and 2020 before being re-branded as Aston Martin.

The RP19 was the team’s first car and competed in the 2019 season, during which the team employed drivers Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez. For power, the RP19 used a Mercedes powerplant, specifically the turbocharged 1.6-liter V6 and a KERS system. This chassis has had its relatively modern engine removed.

The competition history for this chassis, #RP19-03, includes:

  • 2019 Monaco Grand Prix – 12th (with Sergio Perez)
  • 2019 Canadian Grand Prix – 12th (with Perez)
  • 2019 French Grand Prix – 12th (with Perez)
  • 2019 Austrian Grand Prix – 11th (with Perez)
  • 2019 British Grand Prix – 17th (with Perez)
  • 2019 Russian Grand Prix – 7th (with Perez)
  • 2019 Japanese Grand Prix – 8th (with Perez)
  • 2019 Mexican Grand Prix – 7th (with Perez)
  • 2019 United States Grand Prix – 10th (with Perez)
  • 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix – 9th (with Perez)
  • 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – 7th (with Perez)

That’s a fair bit of points-scoring finishes for this chassis, which is about as new of an F1 car chassis as you’re likely going to be able to find on the open market. It’s coming directly from The Aston Martin F1 team, who has been slowly selling off cars with Bonhams over the last few years. Engineless, it is expected to fetch $120,000-$150,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Withdrawn.

Jordan 191

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1991 Jordan-Ford 191

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 2, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

Eddie Jordan’s Jordan Grand Prix competed in F1 between 1991 and 2005. This car is from their debut season, which saw drivers Bertrand Gachot and Andrea de Cesaris start the season. Roberto Moreno, Alex Zanardi, and a very young newcomer called Michael Schumacher also ran races for the team in place of Gachot.

Power is provided by a 3.5-liter Ford V8 that made about 650 horsepower. This particular chassis, #6, has the following competition history:

  • 1991 Hungarian Grand Prix – 7th (with Andrea de Cesaris)
  • 1991 Belgian Grand Prix – 13th, DNF (with de Cesaris)

It was used as a spare at Italy, Portugal, Spain, Japan, and Australia as well. Schumacher used this car at Spa during free practice one before it was raced by de Cesaris. That makes this the first F1 car ever driven by Schumacher during an F1 weekend. It’s had a few private owners since, and was used on F1 TV race coverage at Silverstone in 2021 when Mick Schumacher did some demonstration laps with it. It’ now has an estimate of $1,500,000-$2,150,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $1,658,926.

Ferrari 643 F1

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1991 Ferrari 643

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 1, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The 643 was a mid-season replacement during Ferrari’s 1991 Formula One campaign. It debuted for drivers Alain Prost and Jean Alesi at the 1991 French Grand Prix, where Prost ended up on the podium.

The car is powered by a 3.5-liter V12 capable of 710 horsepower. This chassis, #127, has the following competition history:

  • 1991 French Grand Prix – 4th (with Jean Alesi)
  • 1991 British Grand Prix – 17th, DNF (with Alesi)
  • 1991 Australian Grand Prix – 6th (with Gianni Morbidelli)

It was also a test car for the team at various tracks throughout the season. It was later refreshed by Ferrari before going to a South African collection. From there, it was restored under German ownership in 2016 and is now being offered by RM in Europe. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $4,062,706.

McLaren MP4-16

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2001 McLaren MP4-16

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Munich, Germany | November 26, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Adrian Newey (and team) designed a pretty stout car for the 2001 Formula One season. It wasn’t enough to best Ferrari, but it was enough to place second in the constructor’s championship. It was McLaren’s sixth-straight season with drivers David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen.

The period West livery has been replaced with “David” graphics, as Coulthard did well in this car. It’s competition history (for this, chassis MP4-16A-05) includes:

  • 2001 San Marino Grand Prix – 2nd (with David Coulthard)
  • 2001 Spanish Grand Prix – 5th (with Coulthard)
  • 2001 Austrian Grand Prix – 1st (with Coulthard)
  • 2001 Monaco Grand Prix – 5th (with Coulthard)
  • 2001 Canadian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Mika Hakkinen)
  • 2001 German Grand Prix – 12th, DNF (with Coulthard)

It was also used as a test car at various races. During the season, it was powered by a 3.0-liter Mercedes (Ilmor) V10 that made about 830 horsepower. Now it just has a dummy display engine in its place. No estimate is provided. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Ferrari F2003-GA

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2003 Ferrari F2003-GA

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Geneva, Switzerland | November 9, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari was on fire in this era of F1. This, the F2003-GA (the GA standing for Gianni Agnelli, the previous head of Fiat), gave Michael Schumacher his sixth and penultimate world championship. Rubens Barrichello was the team’s other driver this season, and he won two races in his F2003-GA. Schumacher won five. And they didn’t even use the car for the first four races of the season.

This particular chassis, #229, has a competition history that includes:

  • 2003 Spanish Grand Prix – 1st (with Michael Schumacher)
  • 2003 Austrian Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 Monaco Grand Prix – 3rd (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 Canadian Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 European Grand Prix – 5th (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 French Grand Prix – 3rd (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 Italian Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 U.S. Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 2003 Japanese Grand Prix – 8th (with Schumacher)

Apparently there are only four Schumacher-era Ferrari F1 cars that won five or more races, and this is one of them. It’s powered by a 3.0-liter V10 that made 845 horsepower in race trim. It’s fully serviced and ready to go. It has an estimate of $7,500,000-$9,500,000. Click here for more info.

McLaren MP4/9A

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1994 McLaren-Peugeot MP4/9A

Offered by Aguttes | Sochaux, France | October 23, 2022

Photo – Aguttes

McLaren’s MP4/9 was used for the 1994 season, which was the only season that McLaren partnered with Peugeot as their engine supplier. This was Peugeot’s first season as an F1 engine supplier, and things did not start out well.

Their 3.5-liter A4 V10 was unreliable. Both McLarens failed to finish the first two races. For race number three at San Marino, they upgraded to their “A6” spec V10, which was also a 3.5-liter unit. It made about 740 horsepower, and this chassis, number seven, still has it in there. The competition history for this chassis is confusingly listed, but it was driven in races and as a reserve car during the 1994 season by Mika Hakkinen and Martin Brundle.

It was later stored at McLaren for 26 years and is being sold from Peugeot-Citroen’s collection. The pre-sale estimate is $1,165,000-$1,450,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Force India VJM08

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2015 Force India VJM08B

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, U.K. | September 17, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Another Bonhams sale in England and another car from the former Force India reserves. The VJM08 was the car used by the Sahara Force India F1 Team during the 2015 season, during which the team employed drivers Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg. They upgraded the car to VJM08B spec after the first eight races. That upgrade was just revised aerodynamics.

Mercedes engines were used in conjunction with the VJM08 chassis. Mercedes, naturally, also used that power source, as did Williams and Lotus. This car no longer has an engine. It is chassis #2, and its competition history includes:

  • 2015 Australian Grand Prix – 10th (with Sergio Perez)
  • 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix – 13th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Chinese Grand Prix – 11th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix – 8th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Spanish Grand Prix – 13th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Monaco Grand Prix – 7th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Canadian Grand Prix – 11th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Austrian Grand Prix – 9th (with Perez)
  • 2015 British Grand Prix – 9th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix – 13th, DNF (with Perez)
  • 2015 Belgian Grand Prix – 5th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Italian Grand Prix – 6th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Singapore Grand Prix – 7th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Japanese Grand Prix – 12th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Russian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Perez)
  • 2015 United States Grand Prix – 5th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Mexican Grand Prix – 8th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix – 12th (with Perez)
  • 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – 5th (with Perez)

It can now be yours, as a roller of course. The estimate is $60,000-$82,500. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $89,919.

Williams FW12

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1989 Williams-Renault FW12C

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | St. Moritz, Switzerland | September 9, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

For 1988, Williams returned to naturally aspirated power for their FW12. The car transformed into the FW12C for 12 of 1989’s 16 races. During the ’89 season, Williams employed drivers Riccardo Patrese and Thierry Boutsen.

The engine was a 3.5-liter Renault V10 that made about 650 horsepower. This car, chassis #10, was initially used as a spare car before being used in competition. It’s race history includes:

  • 1989 French Grand Prix – 3rd (with Riccardo Patrese)
  • 1989 German Grand Prix – 4th (with Patrese)
  • 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix – 16th, DNF (with Patrese, from pole)
  • 1989 Belgian Grand Prix – 19th, DNF (with Patrese)

The car was later purchased directly from Williams. It has its engine still, though it is said to be incomplete. You can read more about it here.

Update: Not sold.

Ferrari 625 F1

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1954 Ferrari 625 F1

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-20, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Formula One didn’t technically come into existence, by that name anyway, until 1950. Prior to that there was just a European Championship, in which Ferrari debuted in 1948. So this car, then, is from the first decade of Ferrari’s open-wheel racing program.

In 1952 and 1953, Formula Two was actually the pinnacle of motorsport, as determined by its governing body, the FIA. So the best drivers all tooled around in F2 cars for a couple of years before Formula One again became the World Championship decider in 1954.

Ferrari’s Aurelio Lampredi-designed F2 car for 1952 and 1953 was the 500. When the Scuderia had to shift back to F1, they took 500 chassis and modified them into 625 F1 spec. And this, chassis 0540, is one of those cars. The engine in the 625 was a 2.5-liter inline-four equipped with dual Weber carburetors for an output of up to 227 horsepower.

This car started out as the fourth of five 500 F2 cars before being retrofitted and re-serialed by the factory as a 625 F1. It was campaigned at both levels by Ecurie Francorchamps, a Belgian F1 team. It was later owned by Donald Healey and Pierre Bardinon.

This real-deal Ferrari monoposto from the golden age of F1 racing now has an estimate of $3,000,000-$4,000,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Ferrari F300

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1998 Ferrari F300

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Monterey, California | August 18-20, 2022

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

This was Ferrari’s 1998 F1 contender. It was very similar to 1997’s F310B, which itself was an evolution of 1996’s F310. The main differences between 1998 and 1997 were a narrower track and redesigned sidepods.

Ferrari supplied their own 3.0-liter V10, which made about 805 horsepower in this application. The season’s drivers were Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine, and the competition history for this particular chassis, 187, includes:

  • 1998 Canadian Grand Prix – 1st (with Michael Schumacher)
  • 1998 French Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 1998 British Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)
  • 1998 Italian Grand Prix – 1st (with Schumacher)

Not bad. Unfortunately, Mika Hakkinen’s McLaren was still too strong, and Schumacher ended up second in the World Championship. Ferrari also took second place in the constructors race. Ferrari sold this car late the following year to a private owner.

Race-winning cars from former world champions are hard to come by, especially with their engines intact. The price reflects it here: the estimate is $6,000,000-$8,000,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $6,220,000.