Michael Schumacher may be tied with Lewis Hamilton when it comes to having the most Drivers’ Championships in F1 history, but the German icon just secured another F1-related record, one unlikely to be matched in the near future. That’s because one of Schumacher’s former 2003 Ferrari F2003-GA racers, which he piloted to five victories during the 2003 season, just sold at a RM Sotheby’s auction in Switzerland for a record-breaking price of $14.9 million.
The record-setting race car carries chassis number 229 and is by far the most successful iteration of the F2003-GA that Schumacher and Ferrari utilized during the 2003 season. Ferrari’s original F2003 didn’t prove competitive during the early part of the season, taking home only a single victory during the first four rounds. The automaker rolled out an extensive upgrade package for the car ahead of round five in Spain, which brought with it the F2003-GA naming structure. Those two letters came as an homage to former Fiat CEO Gianni Agnelli, who had passed away at the start of 2003. F2003-GA models featured a longer wheelbase than the early F2002-based examples, which allowed the automaker to make better use of the aerodynamics package on the car. It also allowed Ferrari to install the new 3.0-liter Tipo 052 V-10 engine, which provided 845 hp at 18,300 rpm according to Ferrari. At their first outing in Spain, Schumacher and teammate Rubens Barrichello would finish 1-2 in qualifying. Fernando Alonso managed to split the cars once the racing began, but Schumacher would ultimately take the race win in the brand-new car. Ferrari would go on to win the Constructors Championship behind Schumacher’s continued success, securing his 13th title in the process.
RM Sotheby’s
Ex-Schumacher cars have made a pattern of setting record sales prices. The F2001 that Schumacher drove to nine victories during the 2001 season, including a historic win at Monaco, sold in 2017 for $7.5 million. That record stood until this sale was finalized Wednesday. Only four Schumacher cars ever won five or more races in a single season, bringing an extra bit of prestige to both record-holding sales. Mick Schumacher, Michael’s son and a current Haas F1 driver, recently had a go in chassis 229 on Ferrari’s famous Firorano Circuit.
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Chassis 229 was overhauled by Ferrari at Maranello earlier this year, and currently has only 148 miles on the rebuilt racing engine. Ferrari says that major items like the gearbox, clutch and hydraulic system still have quite a bit of usable life cycle left to play with, which means the new owner could very well spend some time on the track if they so desire. Here’s hoping that we might get to see this iconic part of motorsports history open up that V-10 engine once more.
RM Sotheby’s
