It seems Michael Schumacher's winning Ferrari race car has won another contest yet again, as the 2001 formula one (F1) race car has been sold at an auction for a staggering $7.5 million.
The racing car in question, the Ferrari F2001, sparked an intense bidding contest on Thursday, Nov. 16, with eight bidders who competed within the span of six minutes in the Sotheby auction house. The F2001, despite not being in its best condition, was still fully functioning and was even described by the auction house's senior vice president Gregoire Billault as "the very best racing car ever sold at an auction."
Initially, the expected price of the old race car was projected to be just $4 million, but it nearly doubled due to the intense competition. This was also the first time that a rare automobile was sold at an art auction house. Billault himself has even admitted that the car was no work of art.
The F2001 became one of the most popular poster boys of F1 racing after Schumacher, considered as one of the greatest F1 drivers in sports history, won using it during the 2001 Monaco Grand Prix. During that historical event in sports, Schumacher won his fifth and final victory. For the record, the F2001 has contributed to four of Schumacher's seven world titles for F1 racing.
Using the F2001, Schumacher has also dominated the said Grand Prix, netting him nine Grands Prix in total to finish the year scoring 123 points, with the closest runner-up only having 65. Due to this, the car is as legendary as Schumacher himself.
Schumacher unfortunately, fell into a coma on Dec. 2013 after a skiing accident. He eventually recovered but has not appeared publicly since then. He is now currently in Switzerland where he is assumed to be undergoing an intensive medical treatment. Despite this, Schumacher has never been surpassed in the world of F1 racing. Even now, no one else has come close to his record of 91 career victories and seven world titles.
