Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari F2001 chassis 211 sold for €15.9 million (around US$18.2 million) at RM Sotheby's, becoming the most expensive F1 car driven by the German racing legend to be sold at auction. Taking place in Monaco on 24 May, a day before the F1 race, in the same city, it is a major first for a car auction to be held alongside the Monaco Grand Prix.
Schumacher used chassis 211 to win the same race 24 years ago. Chassis 211 is also the same one that Schumacher used to win the drivers' and constructors' championships later that same season at the Hungarian Grand Prix. This makes it the only Ferrari chassis in which Schumacher won both the drivers’ championship and the constructors’ championship, as well as the Monaco Grand Prix, all in the same season.
Chassis 211 was previously sold by Sotheby’s back in 2017 at its Contemporary Art Evening Auction in New York, going for US$7.5 million, with this sale doubling that prior result. As for the auction in Monaco, a part of the sale's proceeds will be donated to Michael Schumacher’s Keep Fighting Foundation, an organization that donates to various charitable causes.
Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari F2001 "The Schumacher Crown Jewel"
Circa 2001
Chassis Number: 211
Provenance (Compiled by The Value):
- 2001 Formula 1 Season, Scuderia Ferrari
- Sotheby's New York, 16 November 2017, Contemporary Art Evening Auction, Lot 55
Estimate: On Request
Hammer Price: €14,200,000 (around US$16.3 million)
Sold: €15,980,000 (around US$18.2 million)
Auction House: RM Sotheby's
Sale: The Crown Jewel
Date: 24 May 2025
The auctioneer for the sale was RM Sotheby’s Director of Sales, UK, Sholto Gilbertson, and at the sale's opening, he invited bidders to set the opening price. The first bid came in from the Director of Marketing and Business Development, EMEA, Peter Haynes’ client on the phone, starting things off at €8 million.
The next bid jumped up the bid to €10 million, followed by the third moving it up to €10.5 million. The next 10 bids were of smaller increments, ranging between €100,000 and €500,000, with all but one of the various bidders being clients calling in via the phone banks.
That one bidder, a man bidding present on the auction floor in Monaco itself, was the one who placed the final bid of €14.2 million (around US$16.3 million), having engaged in a brief bidding war against remote bidders on the phones for the last few minutes of the auction. After fees, the buyer will pay a total of €15.9 million (around US$18.2 million).
The lot is now the most expensive F1 car ever raced by Schumacher to be sold at auction, beating a 2022 sale of Schumacher’s F2003 that went for US$14.8 million. Within the auction record for all F1 cars, chassis 211 places fourth behind two Mercedes raced by Lewis Hamilton and Juan Manuel Fangio’s W196R Mercedes that sold for US$53.9 million earlier this year.
Chassis 211 on the auction floor in Monaco, during the auction. The sale was held inside the Paddock Club, the VIP lounge for F1 races
The Monaco Grand Prix has been and continues to be a mainstay in F1’s calendar, with it first being held in 1929. Considered one of the three most prestigious car races in the world, alongside the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indy 500, the 2001 edition of the race was no less important than any others.
At the 2001 race weekend's qualifying, McLaren’s David Coulthard, one of Schumacher’s rivals, snagged pole position of the race from him by 0.201 seconds, after Schumacher had an uncharacteristically poor qualifying where he bumped into Arrows’ car of Enrique Bernoldi and damaged his Ferrari's suspension.
That damage forced Schumacher to switch from his original vehicle to this current lot with the chassis number 211. Chassis 211 was quite new, having never participated in a race before this one, and had only received a test drive in Italy and a warm-up in Spain the month before Monaco. Now, the unproven chassis was to be put in the grid’s second place for the start of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Schumacher's F2001 during the 2001 Monaco Grand Prix
Chassis 211 racing past yachts docked in Monaco's harbour
When the race kicked off at 2:00 pm on 27 May 2001, Schumacher, relegated behind Coulthard, experienced a spot of luck when, during the formation lap, an electronic error shut down the engine of Coulthard’s McLaren. This allowed Schumacher to cruise into first place in what would become a race of attrition, with 12 out of the 22 drivers who started the race retiring.
While all of this chaos was ongoing on the race track, the F2001 that was just sold was busy winning the race, extending its lead by every lap, and breaking the record for what was then the fastest lap ever set at the track, with Schumacher completing the 38th lap in 1 minute and 20.770 seconds. Schumacher then beat that record again four laps later, finishing it in 1 minute and 20.422 seconds.
Schumacher’s victory at Monaco 2001 also put him on equal footing with F1 legend Graham Hill, with both having won the Monaco Grand Prix a total of five times. This achievement is only surpassed by Ayrton Senna, who won the race six times. When asked about his victory, Schumacher simply stated, “Honestly, I don’t feel that emotional because it has been a very straightforward win.”
Schumacher celebrating his victory at Monaco in 2001
Schumacher, standing in the middle of the podium, having won first place, flanked by teammate Rubens Barrichello, who came second, and Jaguar driver Eddie Irvine, who came third
After its debut and a victorious performance at Monaco, chassis 211 was put back in reserve as a spare car. It briefly made an appearance during the Canadian Grand Prix when Schumacher’s teammate Rubens Barrichello required it, and it also made appearances in three other European races, all used by Schumacher.
However, when the Hungarian Grand Prix rolled around on 19 August, 211 was brought back from the get-go. In the 13th race of the year, Schumacher held a 37-point advantage over Coulthard, and in a repeat of Monaco, Schumacher dominated and won the 77-lap race. The points he hauled in from the victory also allowed Schumacher to clinch the driver’s championship then and there, winning it with a quarter of the season left, the fourth victory for the German.
Additionally, Schumacher’s victory and his teammate’s second-place finish brought Ferrari to victory in the world constructors ' championship, their third consecutive victory. Speaking from his radio from chassis 211, Schumacher said to his team, “I love you, I love you! I don't have the right words for you at the moment. This is simply amazing. We all love it. It is so lovely to work with you guys. I love you all. I love you all.”