Michael Schumacher's winning Ferrari is up for auction in Geneva with an estimated price of $9.5 million. Photo: Sotheby's
Michael Schumacher's winning Ferrari is up for auction in Geneva with an estimated price of $9.5 million. Photo: Sotheby's
Michael Schumacher's winning Ferrari is up for auction in Geneva with an estimated price of $9.5 million. Photo: Sotheby's
Michael Schumacher's winning Ferrari is up for auction in Geneva with an estimated price of $9.5 million. Photo: Sotheby's

Michael Schumacher’s 2003 season Ferrari up for auction in Geneva


Hayley Skirka
  • English
  • Arabic

The Ferrari driven to five F1 race victories by Michael Schumacher is going up for auction.

The undefeated Ferrari will go under the hammer in Geneva on Wednesday, according to auction house Sotheby's.

Driven by the German driver during his World Championship-winning 2003 Formula One season, the Ferrari F2003 GA helped Schumacher claim his sixth World Championship title.

Dubbed one of the most significant F1 cars of all time by Sotheby's, “Chassis 229" is estimated to fetch between $7.5 million and $9.5m when it goes under the hammer in Switzerland.

The Formula One Ferrari F2003 GA. EPA
The Formula One Ferrari F2003 GA. EPA

“It's … special because this car is one of the only four cars with more than four wins in the Ferrari history and especially with one of the most skilled driver of his generation, Michael Schumacher,” Vincent Luzuy, executive assistant to the director of RM Sotheby's sales, told Reuters.

Boasting one of the final V-10s featured in Formula One, the car produces 930-bhp and a rev limit of 19,000rpm.

Sporting initials honouring late Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli, the bright red vehicle was overhauled in 2022 at Ferarri’s Maranello factory and its 3-litre V-10 engine has been run for about 240 kilometres since then.

The car is race-ready and expected to attract interest from race car buyers and art collectors. Reuters
The car is race-ready and expected to attract interest from race car buyers and art collectors. Reuters

All the major components — including the gearbox, clutch and hydraulic system — have covered only a small percentage of their current lifecycle. The car is ‘’race-ready" and expected to appeal to race car buyers and art collectors.

Chassis 229 is the most successful of the six F2003-GAs that were built. As well as powering Schumacher to his sixth title — a total that took him past the long-standing record of five-time World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio — it was also the most influential chassis in helping Ferrari to win its historic 13th Constructors’ Championship.

In August this year, another of Schumacher’s undefeated Ferraris went under the hammer. Driven by the driver during the 1998 Formula One World Championship, the 1998 Ferrari F300 sold for more than $6m.

WHAT FANS WILL LOVE ABOUT RUSSIA

FANS WILL LOVE
Uber is ridiculously cheap and, as Diego Saez discovered, mush safer. A 45-minute taxi from Pulova airport to Saint Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospect can cost as little as 500 roubles (Dh30).

FANS WILL LOATHE
Uber policy in Russia is that they can start the fare as soon as they arrive at the pick-up point — and oftentimes they start it even before arriving, or worse never arrive yet charge you anyway.

FANS WILL LOVE
It’s amazing how active Russians are on social media and your accounts will surge should you post while in the country. Throw in a few Cyrillic hashtags and watch your account numbers rocket.

FANS WILL LOATHE
With cold soups, bland dumplings and dried fish, Russian cuisine is not to everybody’s tastebuds.  Fortunately, there are plenty Georgian restaurants to choose from, which are both excellent and economical.

FANS WILL LOVE
The World Cup will take place during St Petersburg's White Nights Festival, which means perpetual daylight in a city that genuinely never sleeps. (Think toddlers walking the streets with their grandmothers at 4am.)

FANS WILL LOATHE
The walk from Krestovsky Ostrov metro station to Saint Petersburg Arena on a rainy day makes you wonder why some of the $1.7 billion was not spent on a weather-protected walkway.

Updated: November 05, 2022, 9:55 AM