Lewis Hamilton is one of the most popular and among the richest drivers of Formula 1. He joined Mercedes in 2013, and he has been making his mark in the sport ever since. Lewis is a 7 time world champion tied with the Ferrari legend, Michael Schumacher. It is quite evident that people would want to own a piece of history associated to Hamilton.
The craze of Formula 1 among fans has always been high, and at least once in their life they have a dream of buying a real Formula 1 car used during races. Such kind of purchases have occurred many times in past, but a recent auction has turned every head towards itself.
Hamilton’s race-winning car makes auction history
Lewis Hamilton has won many races throughout his career, and although he may want to forget his latest car that has kept him devoid of victory, there is one car he will always remember, the car that started his Mercedes era, the car that gave him his first victory with Silver Arrows.
The prestigious Mercedes-AMG Petronas W04 was able to give Lewis Hamilton the taste of the top step in Mercedes during the Hungarian GP. It was obvious that buyers would want to have the car that helped Mercedes show their fangs, and it secured a staggering price of $18.815 million, even beating the legendary Ferrari F2003-GA. The car appeared in an Auction during the Las Vegas GP at RM Sotheby’s. It was earlier speculated that the car may fetch somewhere between $10-15 million.
However, the special fact about this car is that, it is one of the only cars from the Mercedes-Lewis Hamilton dominance in the Turbo Hybrid era, which isn’t owned by either Mercedes, Toto Wolff or Lewis Hamilton. The buyers realized that W04 is there best chance at owning one of these monsters and put forth all their money into it.
Which is the most valuable F1 car ever sold?
Prior to the Vegas GP, the Ferrari in which Michael Schumacher won his 6th title was the second highest when it came to most expensive car in auction. Yes, you heard that right, second highest, the most expensive Formula 1 car that has been auctioned to date is the history making vehicle driven by none other than Juan Michael Fangio.
Juan Michael Fangio was the first Formula 1 driver to achieve 5 consecutive titles and his 1954 W196R, also made by Mercedes-AMG, fetched a record breaking price of 29.6 million 10 years ago. It was quite apt for the man who defined the meaning of domination, to have his car sold at a remarkable price and become a part of collector history, shining brighter in its glories.
The Las Vegas GP did not end the way Lewis Hamilton would’ve wanted and it was clear in his subtle digs at world champion Verstappen, but will Lewis have the car to challenge for his 8th title in 2024 finally? Drop your predictions in the comments section.
