One of Lewis Hamilton’s former cars is set to go under the hammer at a major auction.
The 39-year-old started his Formula 1 career in the 2007 season and has since become a seven-time world champion and one of the best drivers F1 has ever seen.
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Hamilton will move to Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season in a final attempt to win an unprecedented eighth championship title with the most successful team in the field.
At Ferrari, Hamilton is under the management of Fred Vasseur, a man who also co-founded Hamilton’s GP2 team and worked with the Briton when he secured the junior formula title in 2006.
Hamilton’s F1 debut
It was Hamilton’s triumph in 2006 that ultimately prompted McLaren to give the then 21-year-old a chance. He went on to have one of the best F1 rookie seasons of all time, taking four race wins but missing out on the world championship by a single point.
However, just months after winning the GP2 title in 2006, Hamilton was invited to test with McLaren at the Silverstone circuit, where he drove the team’s 2006 F1 car.
The McLaren MP4-21 was the last McLaren car designed by Adrian Newey and was driven that season by Kimi Räikkönen, Juan Pablo Montoya and Pedro de la Rosa.
Hamilton impressed in the test alongside de la Rosa and a number of other drivers from five different teams.
The Briton finished the second day of testing in sixth place, just one second behind de la Rosa’s time, and finished third on the third day, over a tenth faster than his Spanish teammate.
Now McLaren’s 2006 car is up for sale at an auction organized by RM Sotheby’s. The car’s current owner has asked for over £1.8 million for the privilege of owning a piece of motorsport history.
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