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IF YOU WIN THE LOTTO, ROB A BANK AND DO A CRYPTO HEIST, YOU MIGHT AFFORD HAMILTON'S 2013 MERCEDES-AMG PETRONAS W04 F1 CAR...

Published: 2023-10-17 17:47:03 Last Updated: 2023-10-17 19:45:41

It must be a tough life as a Formula 1 car. You’re designed by the best engineers and car designers on the planet for the singular purpose of going ridiculously fast flat out for at least 30 minutes, you’re made from the best and most modern materials available, and you’re treated like royalty by legions of fans the world over, and when the season is over and the rules change a wee bit you’re relegated to a garage somewhere and left alone. That’s it, your time in the limelight is gone and your successor takes over the almost literal reigns. In a few years, you’re forgotten and all your performances are forgotten. It’s a short life. The exception to the rule is the cars from Oracle Red Bull Racing because they like to use their old cars for the coolest media stunts and marketing. You’d think that F1 cars with an impressive race history would be cleaned up and housed in a museum or put on display for fans to inspect, but most are put away in private storage. Some do get sold to collectors soon after they’re retired, but mostly they’re never seen again. Luckily for fans of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team, one of their iconic cars is about to head to auction with RM Sotheby’s at a special auction coming up that coincides with the Las Vegas Grand Prix. It’s a clever move because the world’s motoring elite will be in attendance and some might like to show off how fat their wallets are in front of the Gucci-wearing crowds.

The 2013 Mercedes-AMG Petronas W04 F1 car is an amazing thing, and in the Silver Arrow livery, it remains one of the prettiest F1 cars we’ve seen. In 2013 it was the pinnacle of engineering in the sport and featured a carbon fibre and honeycomb composite chassis, rolled on Advanti forged magnesium wheels in Pirelli’s best F1 rubber and was fitted with a 2.4-litre V8 that had an 18,000 rpm limit. This was also before the turbocharging and hybrid power days, so it was still a normally aspirated affair. It also means the car will be easier to drive by the new owner as it shouldn’t need a huge pit crew to get things going. There’s a 7-speed semi-automatic sequential transmission unit housed in a carbon fibre maincase, and it offers up lightning-fast shifts. The Mercedes-Benz FO 108F powerplant tipped the scales at just 95 kg, the minimum weight prescribed by the FIA at the time, yet it was claimed to produce 559 kW, or up to 619 kW with KERS mode engaged. This exact car was the first Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team car that was driven to victory by the now 7-time Formula One Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton. It was piloted by Hamilton at 14 out of the 19 races of the 2013 season and took the win at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The great finishing record also gave Mercedes-AMG Petronas a 2nd place in that year’s Constructors’ Championship. According to RM Sotheby’s, this Mercedes-AMG Petronas W04 F1 car should fetch between $10,000,000 and $15,000,000. Or a cool R281,974,657.25, give or take a few hundred thousand.

Take a look at the YouTube video from ten years ago when this same car that's headed to auction was first introduced to the world. The car was new for the season and was handed to Lewis Hamilton who drove it to one of the best F1 seasons that the Mercedes-AMG team has had in the sport. It's cool to see it come up for sale, and we can only hope we find out who buys it and where it ends up: The Silver Arrows Story: Mercedes W04 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team

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Article Tags: Auction RM Sotheby's F1 Formula One Formula 1 Lewis Hamilton SXdrv Hamilton Mercedes-AMG Petronas W04 F1 Mercedes-AMG Petronas News