F1® and RM Sotheby’s to stage world’s biggest auction at Silverstone

Formula 1® and RM Sotheby’s have announced more details of their very special, single lot auction scheduled to take place at the FORMULA 1 PIRELLI BRITISH GRAND PRIX 2021.

Last week’s announcement that the event has been included in the UK Government’s Event Research Programme, means that there will be a full capacity, 140,000 sellout crowd at this iconic event to witness the sale of Sir Lewis Hamilton’s 2010 Turkish GP race winner setting another world first as the largest audience ever assembled for a live auction.

The sale will be conducted from within Formula 1’s famous Paddock Club by Sotheby’s Senior Director and Chairman for Europe, Oliver Barker, immediately after F1’s first ever Sprint Qualifying Race. The sale is scheduled for 5:15pm on Saturday 17th July and will be broadcast via jumbo screens to all 140,000 race attendees as well as being streamed via Sotheby’s and RM Sotheby’s online platforms.

The McLaren MP4-25A, chassis no. 01, powered Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to 2nd place overall in the Constructors Standings and Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button to 4th and 5th place respectively in the F1 Drivers Championship behind the Red Bull’s of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, and the Ferrari F10 of Fernando Alonso. In addition to its victory in Turkey, chassis no. 01 took Lewis Hamilton to the Fastest Lap and a 2nd place finish in the 2010 FORMULA 1 CHINESE GRAND PRIX in Shanghai and rounded out the year taking Jenson Button to a 3rd place podium finish in the season’s final race in Abu Dhabi.

Race prepared and certified by McLaren Racing’s Heritage team, the mighty Mercedes Benz FO 108X 2.4 litre V8 engine, was fired up at McLaren’s famous Unit 2 facility last week ahead of its return to Silverstone in 2 weeks and RM Sotheby’s were on hand to capture the moment in full effect. Please do adjust your volume settings before launching the video below.

Oliver Barker, Chairman Sotheby’s Europe said:
‘I am hugely excited to be conducting this sale at Silverstone. It is a truly one-off event, in so many ways, emblematic of the car itself. A car driven by Sir Lewis Hamilton, F1’s most successful driver and a global icon recognized for his accomplishments, achievements and relentless drive both on and off the track.

I have had the wonderful privilege of witnessing and conducting sales featuring some of the world’s greatest artists; the 2021 highlights reel alone includes the sale of works from artists as diverse as the impressionists Claude Monet & Paul Cézanne, the neo-expressionist Jean-Michel Basquiat to the works of Banksy, both those that shred and don’t shred; but to be asked to undertake this sale, in front of the world’s largest ever auction audience, live from the home of British Motorsport really is a standout moment and career highlight, I can’t wait to get to Silverstone.’

The availability of this particular example, Chassis no. 1 is an unrepeatable opportunity as all four other examples remain highly coveted and in private hands, unlikely to be sold in the near future. Furthermore, the McLaren Mercedes represents a car that can still be track driven and supported by the original factory teams as part of individual Heritage departments.

About MPA Creative
Founded in 1984 by Jonathan Gill and Jeremy Clarkson, Motoring Press Agency (MPA) is an award-winning agency providing motorsport media, PR, communications and management services. MPA Creative in its existing form was founded by Deborah Tee in 2008 before expanding to include MPA Commercial in 2015 as a sister agency with the arrival of former Haymarket Motorsport Director Ian Burrows and former IMG and MSV business development manager Daniel Bailey.

About MPA Commercial
Founded in 2015 by Ian Burrows, the former Commercial Director of Haymarket Motorsport, Deborah Tee, Director of MPA Creative, former IMG Motorsports Commercial Manager and F1 Commercial Agent Daniel Bailey and Gil de Ferran – double Indycar World Series champion, Indy 500 champion and Sporting Director of McLaren Racing; MPA Commercial provide marketing consultancy, research and activation services for world-class organisations across multiple disciplines.

Working alongside MPA Creative, our communications and media relations agency, the business has rapidly grown to provide a truly bespoke service to both brands and rights-holders in international motorsport.

About Formula 1®  – Formula 1® racing began in 1950 and is the world’s most prestigious motor racing competition, as well as the world’s most popular annual sporting series. Formula One World Championship Limited is part of Formula 1® and holds the exclusive commercial rights to the FIA Formula One World Championship™. Formula 1® is a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LSXMA, LSXMB, LSXMK, BATRA, BATRK, FWONA, FWONK) attributed to the Formula One Group tracking stock. The F1 logo, F1 FORMULA 1 logo, FORMULA 1, F1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX, PADDOCK CLUB and related marks are trade marks of Formula One Licensing BV, a Formula 1 company. All rights reserved.

About RM Sotheby’s
RM Sotheby’s is the world’s largest collector car auction house by total sales. With 40 years of proven results in the collector car industry, RM’s vertically integrated range of services, from auctions (live and online) and private sales to estate planning and financial services, coupled with an expert team of Car Specialists and an international footprint, provide an unsurpassed level of service to the global collector car market.

RM Sotheby’s launched its Online Only division in 2019, providing consignors and bidders an easy-to-use platform that allows faster transactions to take place while still harnessing the level of service and global reach for which the RM Sotheby’s team is known.

For further information, visit rmsothebys.com