The seven-time champion secured his first victory with Mercedes-AMG Petronas at the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix in this vehicle...
Here's your chance to own one of the most significant racing cars from Lewis Hamilton's illustrious career. The Formula 1 car that the seven-time champion drove to his first victory after joining the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team will be offered at auction by RM Sotheby's before the Las Vegas Grand Prix next month. If that isn't enough to grab your attention, this is the only racing car from Hamilton's tenure with the team that you can buy in the foreseeable future.
It's hard to fathom now, but when Hamilton signed with Mercedes ahead of the 2013 season, it was considered a risk. He had won his first driver's title and 21 races during six seasons with McLaren, while Mercedes hadn't seen recent success. Six titles and 82 wins later, it's clear Hamilton made a smart choice. And this car, chassis W04, is the one he drove to his first (and only) Hungarian Grand Prix victory during his inaugural season with the team.
The car that Hamilton drove in 14 of 19 events that season still bears the colours of Mercedes-AMG Petronas from 2013. It's also one of the last Mercedes F1 cars with a V-8 engine before the series mandated teams switch to V-6 turbocharged units. The engine and the rest of the powertrain are still intact in the vehicle, a rarity for retired race cars, according to Bloomberg. It's also the only one of Hamilton's Mercedes F1 cars that isn't owned by the German automaker, team principal Toto Wolff, or the driver himself.
"Given its unparalleled provenance and the fact that it is the only example available to the public outside of Mercedes' original ownership, the combination of Lewis and the W04 elevates it above ordinary Formula 1 cars," said Shelby Myers, RM Sotheby's global head of private sales, in a statement. "This unquestionable piece could become one of the most sought-after collectibles in the foreseeable future."
Hamilton's Mercedes F1 car will be offered at auction on the afternoon of Friday, November 17, in Las Vegas. RM Sotheby's expects the vehicle to fetch between $10 million and $15 million. Even if the car sells at the highest estimated price, it won't be the most expensive F1 four-wheeler. That title belongs to the 1954 Mercedes W196 driven by Juan Manuel Fangio, which sold for $29.6 million in 2013.
