Formula 1 | The most successful Ferrari driven by Michael Schumacher to be auctioned

(Geneva) A Formula 1 car of the legendary German driver Michael Schumacher will be auctioned next week by Sotheby’s, on the occasion of its Luxury Week in Geneva.

For once, the sale of exceptional jewels will be preceded by the sale of one of the most emblematic F1 Ferraris there is: the F2003-GA Chassis 229 with which Michael Schumacher won numerous races. “This sale is an exceptional one-off lot,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.

The car is estimated between 7.5 and 9.5 million Swiss francs (between 10.2 and 12.9 million Canadian dollars at the current exchange rate).

“It’s one of the Ferraris with the most victories in the history of the brand, so it’s a very important car in the history of the automobile,” Vincent Luzuy, from France, told AFPTV on Friday. the branch that deals with luxury car sales at Sotheby’s, during the presentation of the racing car to journalists.

Six times champion

“It was developed by two engineers – Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn – who decided to have a slightly longer wheelbase to work on the aerodynamics,” he explained.

It was at the wheel of this car, introduced at the 2003 Spanish Grand Prix, that Schumacher won five victories that season, in Spain for its first outing and then in Austria, Canada, Italy and the United States. .

The car also took three leading positions and three fastest laps in the race and snagged two podiums in Monaco and France, allowing Schumacher to claim a sixth world championship title, erasing the record he co-held at the time. with Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio, while offering Ferrari its fifth consecutive constructors’ world championship title, says Sotheby’s.

“We have quite a few interested collectors,” said Vincent Luzuy, arguing that the sale of such cars is rather rare.

“We sold in 2017, a car from the 2001 season (also driven by Schumacher) and at the time we estimated the car at 3.5 million and in the end the car sold for 7.5 million, so it proves to us that there is still a particular interest in these cars, especially with such a history, ”he continued. The car had been sold at the time in New York, bought by an American.