We take a look at the most expensive Formula One cars ever sold at auction.

The Formula 1 car driven by Lewis Hamilton to secure the win at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix went under the hammer on 18th July. While the car did sell for what may seem like a mind-blowing amount of money, this is not the top price made for an F1 car. The record was actually set in 2013.

Here we take a look at the Top 5 Formula One cars ever sold at auction.

5. Ayrton Senna's McLaren MP4/8A - £3.6m

Ayrton Senna raced chassis #6 worldwide, including Canada, Germany, Italy and Belgium, but he took his final Monaco Grand Prix victory in the 1993 McLaren MP4/8A. This win was secured despite it having been crashed at Ste Devote, going 100mph just days before. Fast forward 25 years, and the car, powered by a V8 Cosworth-Ford engine, was sold by Bonhams in 2018 for over £3.6 million. Reported this car became the first privately-owned McLaren MP4.

4. Lewis Hamilton's McLaren MP4-25A - £4.8m

The 2010 McLaren MP4-25A Chassis #1 was piloted by Lewis Hamilton when he took it to victory in Turkey. Estimated at £3.2 - £5 million; the McLaren MP4-25A met the expectations when it sold for £4,836,000. A Lewis Hamilton car had never been offered for public sale before this, and the resulting price almost broke records.

3. Michael Schumacher's Ferrari F2002 - £5m

The highly sought after 2002 Ferrari F2002 was the Michael Schumacher Grand Prix winning car. Having taken 15 wins, 11 poles and 15 fastest laps over the 2002 race season, it is no surprise that chassis #2199 sold for just over £5 million when it was auctioned in 2019 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

2. Michael Schumacher's Ferrari F2001 - £5.5m

Another Schumacher victory vehicle, the number two spot, is held by a 2001 Ferrari 2001. This Ferrari is the predecessor to the 2002 Ferrari, which took the number 3 spot in our countdown. Michael Schumacher drove the car to his victories at both Monaco and Hungary in the 2001 Grand Prix. The car sold at auction in 2017 with RM Sotheby's for a whopping $7,504,000 (about £5.5 million). This result meant this 2001 Ferrari broke the record for the most expensive modern F1 car sold at auction. As with the 2002 Ferrari, a proportion of this sale price went towards Schumacher's Keep Fighting Federation, aiming to unite Schumacher fans and encourage them to always keep fighting and never give up.

1. Juan Manuel Fangio's Mercedes W196R - £19.6m

While Schumacher's 2001 Ferrari snagged the record for the highest price for a modern Formula One race car – the number one place goes to a 1954 Mercedes W196R. This vintage vehicle was piloted by Juan Manuel Fangio to secure his second Formula 1 title and was Mercedes first successful foray into Formula One racing. Sold by Bonhams at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, its new owner parted with a mere £1,601,550 to own an incredible piece of Grand Prix history.

Not only is our first-place winner the most expensive Formula 1 car to ever be auctioned publicly, but it also snagged the record for the most expensive car of any type sold at auction when it went under the hammer in 2013. This record was more than double trumped five years later when a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for over £34.6 million! 

You may not have enough money for a Lewis Hamilton victory vehicle, but these Corgi 1/18 F1 Racing Cars are estimated at £80 - £120 in the UK Toy & Model Auctions sale on 9th August at 12 pm BST. These  3 Burago Formula One model racing cars are Lot No 46 in the Model Toy Auctions & Fairs Timed Sale ending on 17th August. Harley St Auctions will sell this F1 artwork of Nigel Mansell's famous 'Red 5' in their Timed Sale ending on 18th August 2021.

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