What Happens To F1 Cars At The End Of The Season?

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Formula 1 doesn't do repeats. No sequels here, dissimilar your favourite movie franchise. The athletics is ever-evolving and ever-changing to adhere to caller rules and regulations, and extract each millisecond possible. So it isn't overmuch of a astonishment that F1 teams alteration their cars each year, consigning astir of nan aged ones to nan trash.

These cars, estimated to costs complete $20 cardinal apiece, are tally into nan crushed earlier they're discarded for illustration past season's sneakers. They're deemed to beryllium "heritage" erstwhile nan play ends, arsenic teams portion down nan car for parts and either usage them for older cars aliases to create them for early cars. Mercedes AMG F1 says it has over a cardinal parts successful its practice division, each of them tagged and stored for early use. Some F1 constructors whitethorn person to nonstop backmost their engines if they are leased from different company, for lawsuit McLaren returning its engines to its supplier, Mercedes.

But nan teams do clasp immoderate cars, servicing them annually to support them successful moving information for historical events and showruns. These cars are often utilized for promotional appearances and demo runs. F1 cars of historical value are presented to sponsors aliases preserved and displayed. Some companies, including Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari, and Williams, person museums and practice divisions that support and showcase these cars for early generations to marvel at.

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F1 manufacturers don't put connected a occurrence waste aft nan past thigh of nan season, but immoderate of nan cars make it to nan auction artifact and are sold for millions. In fact, nan second-costliest car ever sold successful an auction was a 1950s F1 car raced by legendary drivers Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio, which sold for a cool $53.9 million astatine an auction this year.

But you tin person a fewer different iconic cars for a fraction of nan costs (although they do person much zeros than nan mind tin comprehend), for illustration Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes F1 car from 2013 — his first twelvemonth pinch nan German shaper — which sold for $20.36 million in 2023, aliases Michael Schumacher's championship-winning car from 2001, which went for $18.17 cardinal earlier this year. 

A fewer F1 drivers are ardent fans of nan athletics and person had nan privilege of owning a fewer fabled machines. One of them is four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, who owns nan title-winning 1992 Williams FW14B driven by Nigel Mansell, and the McLaren MP4/8 from 1993 driven by Ayrton Senna. Former F1 caput Bernie Ecclestone amassed 1 of nan biggest and astir awesome postulation of F1 cars, which he put up for auction this year, trading 69 cars for a whopping $646 million. And getting a jump connected things, McLaren is auctioning its upcoming 2026 car moreover earlier nan play begins.