SCHUMACHER FERRARI F1 CAR SELLS AT AUCTION

A genuine Ferrari Formula One racer driven to multiple victories by Michael Schumacher in his championship-winning 2003 season has sold at auction for a multi-million dollar amount.

The car, F2003-GA chassis #229, was one of six built in F2003-GA spec by Scuderia Ferrari designers and technicians that included the likes of Ross Brawn, Rory Bryne and Paolo Martinelli.

Replacing an updated F2002 partway through the 2003 F1 season, the F2003-GA (the ‘GA’ was added in tribute to former Fiat boss, Gianni Agnelli, who had passed away that January) featured a longer wheelbase and improved aerodynamics to take advantage of the properties of the Bridgestone tyres in use that season.

The 3.0-litre V10 engine powering this particular car and all F2003-GA chassis was also modified from the previous season’s Tipo 052 V10, producing 845hp (630kW) at a redline of 19,000rpm.

Schumacher debuted F2003-GA #229 at the fifth round of the 2003 F1 season, the Spanish Grand Prix, where he took pole and the race win. At the Austrian Grand Prix a fortnight later, Schumacher repeated the feat in the same car, adding the race’s fastest lap as well.

Schumacher’s next race win in #229 came at the Canadian Grand Prix in June, following a third place at Monaco. After a stint in #231 that resulted in a best finish of fourth, Schumacher returned to #229 for the Italian and US Grands Prix, winning both and taking pole in the former.

Over the course of the 2003 F1 season, Schumacher raced #229 nine times for five wins and two other podium finishes, but despite this, the German wasn’t as dominant as he had been the year before.

In 2002, Schumacher had the title secured by July, but in 2003, the season went down to the last round at Japan in October, with Schumacher ultimately winning the Drivers’ Championship by just two points from McLaren-Mercedes’ Kimi Raikkonen.

Ferrari’s Constructors’ Championship in 2003 was just as hard fought, with the Scuderia fending off both McLaren and Williams for victory.

As a five-time F1 race winner and the car which helped Schumacher achieve his record-breaking sixth Drivers’ Championship (eclipsing the longstanding record of Juan Manuel Fangio), F2003-GA #229 obviously has value, which is why it was offered in a special, single-lot auction conducted by Sothebys in Switzerland this November.

What added to the car’s value was the fact it carried Ferrari Classiche’s “Red Book” certification confirming its provenance and was fully operational, too. It had been overhauled by Ferrari Formula 1 Clienti at the Maranello works earlier this year, with only 148 miles covered since, including shakedown laps at Fiorano by Mick Schumacher, Michael’s son. Refurbished components, like the transmission, clutch and hydraulic systems, were all said to be at an early point in their lifecycle following this overhaul.

Given ex-Schumacher cars with confirmed F1 provenance have sold for multi-million dollar amounts at auction in the past, including AU$9.98 million (approx.) for a 2001 chassis (#211) in 2017 and AU$9.05 million (approx.) for a 1998 chassis (#187) earlier this year, #229 was expected to do the same.

Reflecting this, Sothebys attached a pre-auction estimate of 7.5 to 9.5 million Swiss Francs (AU$11.7 to AU$14.8 million approx.), but #229 outperformed these expectations by a long way, ultimately selling for 14.63 million Swiss Francs (AU$23.1 million approx.), which is being claimed as a new record for a modern-era F1 car sold at auction.