The Mercedes-AMG Petronas racecar that Lewis Hamilton drove to his first victory in that team in the Formula 1 season of 2013 has just found a new owner for U.S. $18,815,000.
Hamilton drove the car with the chassis number W04-04 in 14 out of that season’s 19 total races. He scored four podiums and five pole positions, but only won the Hungary Grand Prix. That triumph led to Hamilton being recognized as the first British racing driver to have won a Formula 1 stage behind the steering wheel of a Mercedes car since 1955, when Stirling Moss did the same in the UK.
The vehicle was sold in good condition with a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter V8 under the hood producing roughly 750 PS (740 hp / 552 kW) and an Xtrac seven-speed transmission. Since the 2014 season, Formula 1 has mostly switched to hybrid V6 powertrains, making this car one of the last F1 winners still packing a V8. It is also the only Mercedes-AMG F1 racer to have gone on public auction: all other examples are either owned by the automaker’s F1 team or stored in its museum.
The bidding has reached U.S. $17.1 million, exceeding the most optimistic estimate of $15 million. The winning bidder paid nearly two million in additional fees.
