17 November 2022
What has a 3-litre V10 engine, producing 845 hp and will rev’ to 19,000rpm?
It was Michael Schumacher’s 2003 title-winning Ferrari race car.
This piece of racing history was recently sold at Sotheby’s recent auction held in Geneva for £11.6 million. Sotheby’s pre-auction estimate was between £7-£8.5 million.
The sale of the Ferrari F2003-GA breaks the previous record also held by one of Schumacher’s F1 cars, which sold for £6.7 million in 2017.
However, not to diminish this record, the sale of Juan Manuel Fangio’s 1954 Mercedes W196R was sold for £25.5 million at the 2013 Goodwood auction.
Back to the Ferrari, notably the 2003 Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher started the season only one of the first four races driving an updated F2002 from the previous season.
Being far from satisfactory for Michael and Ferrari, Scuderia introduced the Ferrari F2003-GA; the GA was in honour of Gianni Agnelli, who died in January 2003.
The new iteration had a more extended wheelbase allowing Ferrari to maximise aerodynamic benefits, far superior to their competition. By the French Grand Prix held in July, Michael had secured the Driver’s Title with six races still to go.
The rest is history.
