You can buy a Ferrari. But can you buy the Ferrari that won Monaco and took Schumacher to his incredible 2001 title? Or the one-off car car Jenson Button drove to his single championship victory?
Yes. You actually can.
Buying an old F1 car is usually something only museum curators or billionaires with pit crews can do. Many, especially those with amazing racing pedigree, still sell for tens of millions at glitzy auctions. A few even come with working engines. Occasionally, someone buys one just to put it in their living room.
But here’s the fun part: people actually drive them.
Take the Historic Formula One Championship, for example. It’s a real race series where buyers bring old F1 cars—sometimes from the 1970s, ’80s, even early 2000s—and send them right back onto the track. You’ll see V10s screaming through Spa and cars once raced by Senna or Prost diving into corners again at Silverstone. To the best collectors these cars aren’t just trophies—they’re still alive.
Let’s take a look at the six most expensive F1 cars ever to sell at auction.
6: 1979 Ferrari 312 T4 (Chassis 040) — $8.26 million
Car info: Flat-12, 3.0-liter engine (~515 hp); Ferrari’s first full ground-effect chassis.
Driven by: Jody Scheckter in the 1979 season.
Achievements: Three wins (Belgium, Monaco, Italy) that sealed Scheckter’s World Championship—Enzo Ferrari’s last drivers’ title.
Sold at: RM Sotheby’s Monaco, 11 May 2024, as the star of the Scheckter Collection (sold by Jody himself)
Buyer: New owner undisclosed; the car is said to remain track-ready for historic events.
Price: €7.655 million (≈ $8.26 M). Sixth on the all-time list, yet half the cost of Hamilton’s W04 further up the top 6.
5: 2003 Ferrari F2003-GA (Chassis 229) — $14.88 million
Car info: 3.0-liter V10 producing ~930 hp at 19,000 rpm; revised wheelbase for better aero.
Driven by: Michael Schumacher during his 2003 championship season.
Achievements: Five GP victories, securing Schumacher’s sixth title and Ferrari’s Constructors’ crown.
Sold at: RM Sotheby’s Luxury Week, Geneva, 9 Nov 2022.
Buyer: Remains private—Ferrari Classiche delivered the keys.
Price: $14.88 million—top modern Ferrari F1 price at the time.
4. 2001 Ferrari F2001 (Chassis 211) — €15.98 million
Car info: Carbon monocoque, screaming 3.0-liter Tipo 050 V10 (~825 hp), seven-speed paddle-shift.
Driven by: Michael Schumacher during the 2001 season.
Achievements: Wins at Monaco and Hungary; clinched both Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles.
Sold at: RM Sotheby’s “Crown Jewel” sale, Monaco, 24 May 2025—held right inside the Paddock Club.
Buyer: Phone bidder who wanted the prancing horse more than a waterfront apartment.
Price: €15.98 million (≈ $18.4 M). Record for a Schumacher-driven car.
3. 2013 Mercedes-AMG Petronas W04-04 — $18.815 million
Car info: 2.4-liter Mercedes FO108F V8 plus KERS; the final naturally aspirated Silver Arrow.
Driven by: Lewis Hamilton in 14 grands prix of the 2013 season.
Achievements: Pole-to-flag win at the Hungarian GP—Hamilton’s first victory for Mercedes and the start of a dynasty.
Sold at: RM Sotheby’s Las Vegas, 17 Nov 2023, during the inaugural F1 GP weekend.
Buyer: Kept quiet, but rumors say the car now lives in a climate-controlled Nevada vault.
Price: $18.815 million—the costliest modern-era F1 car.
2. 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 R (Open-wheel) — $29.65 million
Car info: Open-body twin to the Streamliner below; same 2.5-liter straight-eight, five-speed transaxle, Elektron space-frame.
Driven by: Juan-Manuel Fangio during the 1954 season.
Achievements: Victories at the German and Swiss Grands Prix, sealing Fangio’s second World Championship.
Sold at: Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed, 12 July 2013.
Buyer: Bidder remained unnamed—though the paddock buzz claims a European collector.
Price: $29.65 million. Still the loftiest price ever hammered at Goodwood.
1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 R “Streamliner” — €51.155 million
Car info: Magnesium-clad ‘Streamliner’; 2.5-liter straight-eight with desmodromic valves and mechanical fuel injection. Top speed about 290 km/h.
Driven by: Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss in the 1954–55 seasons.
Achievements: Fangio won the 1955 Argentine GP; Moss set fastest lap at Monza the same year.
Sold at: RM Sotheby’s, Mercedes-Benz Museum, Stuttgart, 1 Feb 2025.
Buyer: Anonymous private collector.
Price: €51.155 million (≈ $53.9 M). World record price tag for any GP car. Unlikely to be beaten any time soon.
