Jenson Button’s Brawn GP chassis from the 2009 season is set to be the latest classic Formula 1 car to go up for auction.
After facing uncertainty heading into the 2009 season when Honda pulled out of F1 due to the global financial crisis, the story of Brawn GP would go on to become one of the great underdog stories of the sport.
Brawn GP was one of the teams that ran the double diffuser, which was ruled by the FIA to be legal following a challenge from Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.
The chassis up for auction is one of three that was made during the year and although it wasn’t the chassis that carried Button across the line to win the title in Brazil, it was given to him after the season after a legal dispute.
With it set to fetch for a significant amount of money, F1 Oversteer has gone through the top five most expensive F1 cars ever to be sold at auction.
5. 2001 Ferrari F2001 (£5.5m in 2017)
The F2001 is one of the most successful cars in Ferrari’s Formula 1 history, with Michael Schumacher using it to win nine races in the 2001 season.
The chassis sold at auction was used by Schumacher to win the Hungarian and Monaco Grands Prix that year, making it a very sought after model.
That year, he also drew level with Alain Prost on world championships and went behind only Juan Manuel Fangio in the all-time history books.
4. 2003 Ferrari F2003-GA (£10.7m in 2022)
Another ex-Schumacher Ferrari from the 2003 season was sold for £10.7 million in 2022.
The Ferrari F2003-GA was used by the German to win seven victories that year, with it introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix after the team decided to delay and use their 2002 car for the first four races.
Both Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello scored 158 points with the chassis that year, with the German taking another title and Ferrari securing their third Constructors’ Championship in a row.
3. 2013 Mercedes W04 (£15.1m in 2023)
Lewis Hamilton’s first car from his highly successful Mercedes era was far from perfect, but it did yeld one victory at the 2013 Hungarian rand Prix.
The car auctioned was chassis number four, which was the exact one used by Hamilton to win in Budapest, and fetched for £15.1 million when it was auctioned at the first Las Vegas Grand Prix.
It became the second most expensive F1 car sold at the time, however, it would be bumped down to third on the list by two other special Mercedes cars.
2. 1954 Mercedes W196R (£19.6m in 2013)
The W196R was driven by five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio and was the car in which he took his second F1 title in 1954.
It was the first Mercedes to enter a F1 Grand Prix at the Argentine Grand Prix and would go on to be an instant success for the legendary F1 team.
This chassis was the sixth produced that season and won races in Germany and Switzerland, while also being driven by Fangio’s teammate Hans Hermann to fourth place in Italy. Nico Rosberg would go on to drive it at a Mercedes event in Stuggart in 2014.
1. 1954 Mercedes W196R Stromlinienwagen (£42.7m in 2025)
This Mercedes was a true classic raced by Fangio and F1 legend Sir Stirling Moss, having sold recently for a record £42.75 million.
The car was driven by Fangio to victory at the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, which was the same year he won his third Drivers’ title, while Moss took to the wheel and used it to set the fastest lap of the Italian Grand Prix in the same year.
It is the most valuable F1 car ever sold at Auction and the second most valuable car ever sold, following on from the 1955 Mercedes 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe sportscar which sold for £113 million in May 2022.
