Ex-Lewis Hamilton Mercedes F1 Car Sets New Auction Sale Record

Sold at auction during last weekend's Las Vegas GP was this 2003 Petronas-liveried Mercedes F1 W04 racecar driven by Lewis Hamilton.

By comparison, the 2013 Mercedes F1 W04 racecar fielded by Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and driven by then new signing Lewis Hamilton lacks the race-winning pedigree as opposed to the 2003 Ferrari F2003-GA machine piloted by Michael Schumacher we reported on prior.

However, we reckon the record-setting auction sale price fetched by the newer generation Petronas-liveried machine, which is also one of the last from F1’s era of naturally aspirated V8 power units, is largely driven by the fact it is tied to Hamilton.

Though not a title-winning car, it's association to Hamilton perhaps drove its record-setting sale price of US$18.815 million - approx. RM87.44 million.

Recently, said V8-engined Mercedes F1 car sold at auction held during the inaugural F1 Las Vegas race weekend and fetched a staggering figure of US$18.815 million – approx. RM87.44 million. This sees said F1 car set a new world record as the most expensive F1 car ever sold at auction.

The record was previously held by the Schumacher-driven Ferrari F2003-GA mentioned, which reportedly fetched a sum of US$14,873,327 (RM68,714,771) when it went under the hammer through renowned auction firm RM Sotheby’s.

Besides the fact it is one of the last from F1's V8 era, this F1 W04 is also one of a handful of cars NOT owned by either Mercedes, Toto Wolff, or Hamilton himself.

Another reason why it fetched such a high figure is the fact that it is the only Mercedes F1 car from the modern era NOT owned by Mercedes, Toto Wolff, or Lewis Hamilton himself. Seven-time champion Hamilton drove this car in 14 of the 19 races held in 2013, charting just one win with it.

In other words, there’s very little chance that any of the Mercedes F1 cars driven by Hamilton during his period of hybrid-era dominance lasting from 2014 to 2020 will hit any auction soon. With that in mind, the F1 W04 featured stands as the next best thing.

Fuelling this F1 W04's desirability further is the fact that it is NOT a static display unit, but a working running car instead.

Besides winning the Hungarian GP, Hamilton also scored four other podium finishes – all third places – with this car and another. He would go on to rank himself fourth in the driver’s championship standings that season after hauling 189 points in total.

Making this record-setting F1 W04 even more desirable is the fact it is NOT a static display piece, but a working and running car. In other words, the lucky new owner can indeed fire up the 2.4-litre V8 mounted behind the cockpit and savour its ultra-high revving traits on track if he/she so wished.

With this non-title-winning ex-Hamilton Mercedes F1 car already fetching a record-setting price, we can only imagine how much more any of its title-winning and hybrid-powered successors could fetch should they come up for sale at auction in perhaps a distant future.