The season with 22 races in 2021 has finally ended and dusted off after an exciting GP weekend in Abu Dhabi. During each round, the teams remove various parts from the chassis and replace them with a new set for the next round. However, the F1 cars are put to bed at the end of each season and replaced with a whole range of new and improved cars over the next season.
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The teams will shortly be testing the newly built F1 cars for the 2022 season according to a completely different set of rules. However, the question remains what will happen to the F1 chassis after the season ends.
Well, there are several answers to that, and we’re going to examine the most common ways teams handle their used cars. It is noteworthy that some masterful F1 cars are sold for a high price at auctions.
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F1 cars after the end of the season
The F1 teams, with the exception of Alpine, the ex-Renault, Mercedes and Ferrari, are required to return the engines, transmissions and other parts they leased for the season to their suppliers. As it stands, these cars are left with just the chassis frame. Now exhibiting in the teams’ warehouse is the best way to deal with it. This is the case with many cars; they can ultimately be found in museums.
According to the reports, the McLaren keeps around 50 to 75 cars in its top-secret facility. These include cars from Prost, Senna, and Hamilton. There is also a unique Lamborghini-powered prototype that was tested by Ayrton Senna.
The older cars are also available for display after they have been repainted to match the paintwork of the new car. The outgoing Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas recently took a look at every F1 car he has raced with the Silver Arrows team. Mercedes W-07 through W-12 are all securely stored in an exclusive facility in Berkeley.
For demo runs
Many teams have kept older chassis in working conditions and use them for demo runs. It is noteworthy that the lap of lights at Silverstone was recently started by the Mercedes AMG W-10.
Additionally, Red Bull toured the streets of Jeddah in the 2012 RB8 ahead of the first Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
Selling an F1 car
Owning an F1 car is a dream for many. They are exorbitantly expensive because of their performance on the track, their killer look and their exclusivity. However, a team must keep a car for two consecutive seasons before it goes under the hammer. Fernando Alonso has a car from every team he has driven for, according to sources. Apart from that, Sebastian Vettel also bought Nigel Mansell’s 1992 title-winning Williams FW14B car.
RM Sotheby’s has sold a variety of F1 cars, including those that brought Hamilton, Schumacher and Fangio to championship victories. Mercedes W196R, the car that led Juan Manuel Fangio to championship victory in 1954, sold for £ 19.3 million, or $ 25 million in US currency, in 2013.
Gift to the driver
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While it’s not a norm, some teams give drivers the cars that have won the championship as gifts. Benetton donated his Formula 1 cars from 1994 and 1995 to Michael Schumacher. Similarly, Alonso is also exhibiting his cars from 2005-06 in a museum in Spain.
Finally, F1 cars are also used for testing on the tracks with new accessories. Recently, most teams used their 2018-19 cars with 18-inch Pirelli pads for post-season testing in Abu Dhabi.
Formula 1 F1 – Young Driver Test – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 14, 2021 Ferrari’s Antonio Fuoco testing REUTERS / Hamad I Mohammed
Many fans want an F1 chassis in their garage. Some also managed to make this dream come true. Which F1 car would you like to have in your garage?
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