A piece of Formula One history was sold for a staggering $18.17 million as Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari F2001, the car he drove to victory at the 2001 Monaco and Hungarian Grands Prix, was auctioned by RM Sotheby’s ahead of Saturday’s qualifying session in Monte Carlo.
The sale makes the F2001 the most expensive Schumacher-driven F1 car ever sold, surpassing the previous record of $13.2 million paid for his 2003 Ferrari F2003 in 2022. It also ranks as the fourth-most expensive Formula One car ever sold at auction.
This historic Ferrari, which played a pivotal role in Schumacher clinching his fourth world championship title, became an enduring symbol of his dominance in the early 2000s. The Hungarian Grand Prix victory, which came shortly after his Monaco triumph, sealed the title in what was another stellar season for the German icon.
The current world record for an F1 car sale remains the $52.52 million paid for a 1950s Mercedes W196 streamliner driven by Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss.
Now 56, Schumacher won his fifth and final Monaco Grand Prix in the F2001, a car that has become a defining artifact of his illustrious career. The sale not only underlines the enduring legacy of the seven-time world champion but also reflects the immense historical value placed on cars tied to the sport’s greatest legends.
