Michael Schumacher's last Ferrari racing car will be put up for auction (25 photos)

An unusual lot will be sold at Sotheby's auction in mid-November. This is a Ferrari 248 F1, chassis number 254 - the car that Michael Schumacher drove before his first retirement. Not the most successful chassis in the biography of the famous racer, but the auctioneers believe that it is worthy of the attention of collectors for a number of reasons.





Ferrari developed the chassis with the index 248 F1 for the 2006 season. Both the car and the duo of Schumacher and Felipe Massa were supposed to become the Scuderia's weapons in the new round of confrontation with Renault, but at the end of the season the Red Baron still lost the lead to Fernando Alonso. In September 2006, Schumacher announced his retirement from the Royal Races for the first time, and thus the 248 F1 became the last Ferrari car in his sports biography.

The fifth of the eight cars built will be put up for sale. Despite the overall lost season, Michael Schumacher won five victories on it, rose to second place three more times and won the qualifying rounds three times. In addition, it was on this chassis that Schumacher recorded a significant achievement. The pole position won at the San Marino Grand Prix was the 66th in his career, and thus the driver broke Ayrton Senna's record that had stood for 12 years.

Chassis No. 254 also went on the track in 2007, but only as part of pre-season testing. According to the auctioneers, this car was the first Ferrari in the career of another celebrity - Kimi Raikkonen. Until the end of the season, the Ferrari 248 F1 was stored at the Scuderia headquarters, after which it was bought by an anonymous collector. He put the racing prototype up for sale.

It is especially noted that the Ferrari is fully operational, although, given that the 790-horsepower car has not been used for its intended purpose for more than ten years, many preventive measures will be required before the first drive with the new owner. The auction will be held behind closed doors, and the auctioneers, unfortunately, are not disclosing price expectations.