Skip advert
Advertisement

Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari F2001 Formula One championship-winning car up for auction

The celebrated F1 car will go under the hammer with an estimate north of £3million

The Ferrari F2001 driven to the Formula One driver’s championship by Michael Schumacher in 2001 will be crossing the auction block later this year. The consignment will be tendered by RM Sotheby’s during the Contemporary Art Evening in New York this November.

RM Sotheby's says the sale marks the first time a collector car will feature in one of its art auctions, and that this cements automotive design as a recognised artistic form. The Maranello masterpiece is expected to generate bids in excess of £3million.

Advertisement - Article continues below

The F2001 chassis took Schumacher to the second of five consecutive titles he clinched for the team during Ferrari’s most dominant period in the sport. Over the seventeen race weekends in which Ferrari deployed the F2001 at the hands of Schumacher, it claimed eleven pole positions, bagged nine race victories and a further five second-place finishes.

> Click here for our review of the Ferrari 488 GTB

Scuderia Ferrari accumulated 179 points, romping its way to the construtor's title, with Schumacher accruing the lion’s share of points, 123, with Rubens Barrichello topping up the total. While this was a dominant showing, the revised F2002 that was used by Schumacher the following season collected two more victories with the seven-time world champion at the helm.

The F2001 was the brainchild of Ross Brawn, then Technical Director at Scuderia Ferrari. The 3.0-litre V10, cradled within a carbon fibre tub, serenaded the adoring Tifosi on the straights of Monza with a sky-high red line of 17,300rpm; power peaked at 825bhp in qualifying trim.

The Tipo 050 engine was lighter but just as powerful as the V10 that preceded it, tipping the scales at just 100kg. This brought the whole car’s weight below the 600kg minimum weight regulation. To reconcile this, engineers placed ballast within certain points of the chassis depending on the track it was racing at to bring the weight back up without compromising performance.  

To keep this highly-strung machine in tip-top condition Ferrari will offer to store the car and transport it to prearranged locations where a band of Ferrari mechanics, technicians and test drivers will be on hand to ensure the new owner makes the most of the experience should they choose to drive the piece of ‘usable art’ as it’s referred to by RM.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Great Ferrari hypercars driven: 288 GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo head-to-head
Ferrari hypercar supertest
Group tests

Great Ferrari hypercars driven: 288 GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo head-to-head

As Ferrari’s new F80 hypercar follows the hybrid path of the LaFerrari, we look back at its iconic forebears from a time when cubic capacity and large…
23 Oct 2024
Legendary Ferrari 288 GTO to get brand new tyres from Pirelli
Ferrari 288 GTO
News

Legendary Ferrari 288 GTO to get brand new tyres from Pirelli

Vintage supercar tyre availability increases again, with new Pirelli P7 Cinturato rubber for the Ferrari 288 GTO
7 Oct 2024
The Ferrari 12Cilindri's 'special on demand' paint costs as much as a Golf GTI
Ferrari 12Cilindri – front
News

The Ferrari 12Cilindri's 'special on demand' paint costs as much as a Golf GTI

Ferrari’s Vanquish-rivalling V12 GT is available to order in the UK, and comes with a £39,624 exterior paint option...
11 Sep 2024
Ferrari’s new factory will produce its first EV in 2026
New Ferrari factory
News

Ferrari’s new factory will produce its first EV in 2026

A new €200m e-building will produce Ferrari’s future sports cars – including its first EV
22 Jun 2024
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Potential sale of McLaren Automotive imminent
McLaren for sale
News

Potential sale of McLaren Automotive imminent

McLaren’s Bahraini owners could sell to Abu Dhabi’s CYVN Holdings, which already has investments in Gordon Murray Technologies and Nio
29 Oct 2024
Toyota GR86 Fast Fleet test – three months in the budget sports coupe
evo Fast Fleet Toyota GR86
Long term tests

Toyota GR86 Fast Fleet test – three months in the budget sports coupe

It shines in shorter tests, but what’s the GR86 like to live with day-in, day-out? We now have the answer
1 Nov 2024
Used car deals of the week
Used car deals of the week
Advice

Used car deals of the week

In this week’s used car deals, we’ve sourced everything from a Golf GTI TCR to an Aston Martin DBS
30 Oct 2024