Vegas to play host to sale of F1 legend's winning car

Lauren Sneath
Friday 6 October 2023 12:43

The first Mercedes car driven to F1 victory by Lewis Hamilton is to be sold at auction ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November, RM Sotheby’s has announced.

The 2013 W04 car was driven by the seven-time world champion at 14 of 19 races during the 2013 season, which was his first with the team after his surprising decision to leave McLaren at the end of the 2012 season.

That year, Hamilton won only one race – the Hungarian Grand Prix – and came in P4 in the drivers’ standings.

Mercedes came in second place in the constructors’ standings that year, and Sotheby’s attributes much of that result to the success of the W04.

Now, the car will be sold at auction in Las Vegas at an official auction for the city’s inaugural Grand Prix in November. It is expected to fetch between $10 million and $15 million.

Sotheby’s said the car is ‘a historically significant example of Mercedes-AMG Petronas’ final naturally aspirated 2.4 litre V-8 Formula 1 model’, before the 2014 regulations brought in an entirely different machine.

Sotheby’s and Wynn Las Vegas announced that the auction will feature ‘the world’s ultimate luxuries – from iconic sports memorabilia to legendary automobiles to the finest watches’.

Alongside Hamilton’s legendary car will be the 2021 McLaren Elva and a 2023 Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey belonging to Tom Brady, worn during his final career game.

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