Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 Mercedes is going on auction

The first Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team car to be piloted by seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton is going under the hammer at an RM Sotheby’s auction on November 17 in Las Vegas, US.

Hamilton joined the German outfit in 2013 after a move from McLaren, replacing Michael Schumacher. In the same year Mercedes-AMG Petronas team principal and CEO Toto Wolff also joined the team from Williams.

Mercedes GP Petronas was formed in 2010. Ross Brawn was technical director of an all-German driver line up with Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, who came out of retirement after dominating the sport at Ferrari.

The car is powered by a 2.4l V8 engine developing 559kW at 18,000rpm, mated to a seven-speed semi-auto transmission and Kinetic Energy Recovery System that adds 60kW. Chassis number F1W04-04 endured a difficult start in a season tyre manufacturer Pirelli would sooner forget, as the Italian company came under fire for a series of unexplained tyre blowouts.

Hamilton won the Hungarian GP with it and raced the car for 14 out of 19 events during the 2013 season which ended with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel securing his fourth championship.

Hamilton finished fourth overall behind Red Bull’s Mark Webber and ahead of teammate Rosberg in fifth. Mercedes-AMG Petronas settled for second in the constructor’s championship. The car is expected to fetch up to $15m (R290m.)

DTM C-Class

If a Formula One car is too much for the budget, how about this Mercedes C-Class DTM that’s also on auction? It was entrusted to former Scuderia Formula One racer Jean Alesi to compete for honours in the 2004 DTM season, which also saw the introduction of the four-door chassis for the first time. Audi and Opel also revealed the new A4 and Vectra models, while Mercedes-Benz unveiled this new C-Class design.

Chassis RS04-002 is being presented in its original 2004-specification AMG-Mercedes livery, and in the 2005 and 2006 DTM seasons it was campaigned in the DTM by Mücke Motorsport, driven by Stefan Mücke and Susie Wolff, Toto’s wife.

Czech motorsport impresario Antonin Charouz owned the car in 2007, and in 2015 it changed hands, with the new owner restoring its original specification and livery.

The auction takes place on November 25 at Motorworld München in Germany. It’s expected to fetch R11.7m.