F1 is at the forefront of technology, and that means that each year the cars evolve and are different from the previous ones, so that the old ones are no longer used. But have you ever wondered if F1 drivers keep their cars?
F1 drivers rarely keep their cars, as they are owned by the team and used for museum display, auction sale, or demo cars. However, some drivers have received their cars as gifts or by purchasing them from the team.
Old F1 cars still have a long life ahead of them, and in this article, we will see everything about them. Keep reading!
If you’re looking for some F1 merchandise, check out the awesome stuff at the official F1 store here.
What Do F1 Teams Do With Their Old Cars?
So F1 drivers don’t keep their cars, right? So then, who keeps them? Well, as we discussed earlier, it is the teams that keep the old cars, so they can do whatever they want with them, but most likely:
- They are displayed in museums or at the team headquarters: F1 cars are a true beauty. Once they are retired, they become a piece of history, so teams usually remove their mechanical components, leaving just the chassis to be displayed.
There are numerous places where they can be displayed, such as shopping malls or hotels, but most commonly, they are displayed in car museums or team headquarters, which also often have a museum-like section for fans to see their vintage cars.
- They are sold: Many teams sell their vintage cars at auctions or through specialized sites and are bought by collectors for a lot of money.
- They are used for exhibition runs: Many older cars are used in promotional events and exhibitions, usually on city streets, where they perform donuts and drifts.
Former drivers or young talents typically drive them, and the cars are painted like the new ones to include newer sponsors.
- They end back on the racetrack: Many private owners of retired F1 cars participate in historic car races, such as the Goodwood Revival or the Monaco Grand Prix Historique.
Some teams and companies, like Ferrari with its Ferrari Corse Clienti, have programs that offer services to F1 car buyers, like maintenance, storage, and even driving training and taking their car to the track so they can drive them.
- They are given to drivers: It is not the most common, but sometimes the teams give their cars to the drivers, either for having achieved some success with them or as a tribute to leaving the team or finishing their career.
How Can You Buy An F1 Car?
There are many ways to buy an F1 car, some of which we have seen before. You can buy an F1 car in a live auction or on the Internet, conducted by F1 teams or private agencies, websites specializing in luxury goods, or even on eBay if a person who owns one wants to sell it.
You can find F1 cars for sale in Motorsports Market, F1 Authentics, Retro Race Cars, or simply put “F1 cars for sale” on the internet and do a little research to see what you can find. It is not very difficult to find cars for sale, the tricky thing is to find a good offer and that there is not much demand.
The point is, F1 cars are ridiculously expensive, with prices ranging from $ 25,000 for the chassis alone to $ 7.5 million for which some cars have been auctioned.
The price depends on the car, the team, the year, and the driver who drove it, since the most successful cars or the most demanded liveries are the most expensive. But above all, the price of a car depends on whether it has an engine or not, since it is the most expensive part and can cost up to $ 10.5 million.
Which Drivers Have Their Own F1 Cars?
Many drivers tend to have incredible collections of cars, but only a few own an F1 car. As we said earlier, some F1 drivers own F1 cars because of gifts from their teams or simply because they bought them.
In very few cases, a driver is gifted with a racing car. They only get these cars when a driver has done something miraculous for the team, such as winning a world championship. Here we leave you with some drivers who have their own F1 cars, either given away or bought:
- Michael Schumacher: The “Kaiser” has an incredible collection of diverse cars from different eras. Among the F1 cars he owns is the Benetton, with which he won his first two world titles in 1994 and 1995, gifted by the team.
Ferrari also gave him several F1 cars: the 1996/97 Ferrari F310 with which he achieved several victories, 2000, 2002, and 2004 Ferraris with which he won the championship and the 2006 Ferrari 248 F1, which was the last car he raced with in the Italian team. He also has the 2012 Mercedes W03, his last car in F1.
- Fernando Alonso: Alonso has his own museum in his homeland, Asturias, where he displays all the cars of his career. Some of them are gifts from the teams, such as the 2005 and 2006 Renault with which he won his two world championships, some he bought, and with other cars, he reached an agreement with the teams to display them.
- Nelson Piquet: The legendary Brazilian driver also owns an extensive collection of modern and vintage cars. Among them is the 1987 Williams FW11, with which he won his third world title, which is on the wall of his house.
- Sebastian Vettel: Seb is very passionate about F1 history. Among his car collection is the 1992 Williams FW14B that he bought a few years ago. This was Nigel Mansell’s title-winning car and is considered one of the best F1 cars ever, thanks to its revolutionary active suspension and advanced electronics.
- Kimi Räikkonen: The Finn received a gift from Ferrari in 2020, his 2018 United States Grand Prix race-winning Ferrari, with which he won a race after more than 5 years.
Conclusion
As we have seen, it is not easy to own an F1 car, even for the drivers themselves. They are very expensive and precious machines, so the teams usually keep them to extend their lives.
However, with a lot of money, whoever you are, you can always have the opportunity to own your own F1 car.
