Hamilton’s 2013 Mercedes F1 car sells for whopping $18.8m in auction

Mercedes W04 chassis #4 was raced by Lewis Hamilton during the 2013 season after he left McLaren to join the Three-Pointed Star. Hamilton drove this car in 14 out of 19 rounds, winning six of his seven titles with Mercedes.

This car is most notably remembered for Hamilton’s win at the Hungarian GP, where he secured the pole position, beating out competitors such as Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton scored four podium finishes with this car, including third place in Malaysia, China, and Belgian. He finished fourth in the drivers’ championship standings using Chassis #4.

Recently, Chassis #4 became the first Mercedes F1 car driven by Hamilton to be sold to the public, fetching a stunning $18.8mn at a recent RM Sotheby’s auction in Las Vegas. This was above the pre-sale estimate of $10-15mn.

The auction took place at the Wynn’s Awakening Theater and was hosted by TV presenter and writer James Corden. The sale included 39 lots, one of which was a Ferrari race suit reportedly worn by Schumacher at the 2003 Italian GP, which sold for $102,000.

Moreover, the auction included a 1990 Ferrari F40 GT, a replica Lando Norris, and other incredible memorabilia, all raising funds for various causes.

The staggering $29.6m sale of the 1954 Mercedes W196R set a new record for an F1 car, surpassing the sale of Juan Manuel Fangio’s car. Additionally, Mercedes raised $143m which went towards establishing an educational and research scholarship program focused on environmental science and decarbonization.

Looking ahead to the upcoming Abu Dhabi season finale, a 1978 championship-winning Lotus 79, Mario Andretti’s MP4/21, and a 2001 Ferrari show car are set to be auctioned by Bonhams.

All these transactions demonstrate the incredible value and demand for historic F1 cars and memorabilia.