Michael Schumacher’s closing Ferrari F1 automotive heads to public sale

• A 2006 Ferrari 248 F1 race automotive is headed to public sale
• Michael Schumacher drove the F1 automotive earlier than his momentary retirement
• An F1 automotive beforehand pushed by Schumacher offered for $14.8M in 2022.

Michael Schumacher stays one among Method 1’s most profitable drivers, with most of that success coming in a dominant period with Ferrari within the early 2000s. The automotive that marked the top of that period shall be auctioned off by RM Sotheby’s Nov. 14.

The 2006 Ferrari 248 F1 is the final Ferrari F1 automotive raced by Schumacher, who briefly retired following the 2006 season. Schumacher did not add to his record-tying seven championships that season, however he did rating his closing 5 victories and final three pole positions. His closing pole and win have been scored within the automotive up for public sale—chassis quantity 254.

This season marked F1’s change from 3.0-liter V-10 engines to 2.4-liter V-8s, and Ferrari hoped the contemporary begin would enable it to reset from a disappointing 2005 season wherein it misplaced the drivers’ and constructors’ championships to Fernando Alonso and Renault, respectively. These have been the primary championship losses for Ferrari since 2000, breaking the Scudera’s (and Schumacher’s) stranglehold on F1.

2006 Ferrari 248 F1 pushed by Michael Schumacher (picture by way of RM Sotheby’s)

The primary V-8 Ferrari F1 automotive for the reason that championship-winning 158 of 1964, the 248 F1 did not fairly reside as much as expectations—Alonso and Renault repeated their championship-winning kind—nevertheless it was rather more aggressive than the 2005 automotive. Schumacher got here dwelling first within the San Marino, European, United States, French, and German Grands Prix. The latter was his closing F1 win—on dwelling soil, nonetheless.

Producing 730 hp initially, and as much as 758 hp by the top of the season because of growth work, the 248 F1 additionally powered Schumacher to his closing pole place, additionally on the German Grand Prix. Chassis 254 can also be the automotive wherein Schumacher surpassed Ayrton Senna’s document for pole positions (each drives have since been surpassed by Lewis Hamilton) and took the German driver to 3 second-place finishes and 4 quickest laps.

Schumacher returned to F1 with Mercedes-AMG in 2010, however wasn’t ready so as to add to his victory tally throughout three seasons with the group. He certified on pole for the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix, however did not begin there attributable to a five-place grid penalty from a collision with Bruno Senna on the earlier race. The 248 F1 thus represents the top of Schumacher’s F1 glory days—and the start of the top of Ferrari’s.

2006 Ferrari 248 F1 pushed by Michael Schumacher (picture by way of RM Sotheby’s)

Ferrari 248 chassis 254 additionally boasts a connection to a different F1 star. It was the primary Ferrari pushed by Kimi Räikkönen, throughout pre-season testing in Jan. 2007. Räikkönen would go on to win the drivers’ championship, with Ferrari profitable the constructors’ championship after McLaren was excluded within the “Spygate” scandal. These stay Ferrari’s final F1 championships.

RM Sotheby’s didn’t publish a pre-auction estimate for this automotive, however to present you an concept, an ex-Schumacher Ferrari F1 automotive from the 2003 season offered for $14.8 million at public sale in 2022.