Tag: lewis hamilton

  • First Lewis Hamilton Formula One car up for grabs sells for millions at auction

    A race-winning McLaren Formula One car driven by Lewis Hamilton was sold at an RM Sotheby’s auction over the weekend, and the final bid came in at 4.73 million British pounds (approximately $6.45 million).

    It isn’t the highest price paid for a F1 car from the modern era. That honor goes to Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari F1 car from the 2021 season that sold in 2017 for $7.5 million. Of course, when it comes to the highest price paid for an F1 car, Juan Manual Fangio’s Mercedes-Benz from the 1954 season takes the prize, selling for almost $30 million back in 2013.

    Hamilton’s car is the McLaren MP4-25 from the 2010 season. It was driven that season by both Hamilton and his teammate at the time, Jenson Button, with its best finish being Hamilton’s win at the Turkish Grand Prix. It’s the first of Hamilton’s former F1 cars to hit an auction block.

    The car was put into storage at McLaren after the 2010 season and only brought out again in 2019 when it underwent a restoration in 2019. The work was performed by McLaren’s heritage department and included a complete teardown of the car, after which all safety-critical items were inspected, tested, and replaced as needed. The engine was also sent over to its original supplier, Mercedes, to have it brought back to factory standard.

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    The car is fully certified by McLaren, and it can still be used for track driving, the listing claims, though even a decade-old F1 car is likely far too much for most drivers to handle. We should also add that you need multiple engineers just to start a modern F1 car, let alone see it run smoothly on a track.

    Powered by a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter V-8, the MP4-25 was notable for introducing the infamous “F-duct.” Named for the positioning of an outlet near the letter “f” in sponsor Vodafone’s name, the duct was activated by the driver covering up a small hole with his leg. This redirected airflow, reducing aerodynamic drag and adding up to 6 mph on straights, according to the listing.

    The F-duct was briefly a must-have feature in F1, allowing teams to keep downforce-generating aerodynamic appendages for corners while eliminating some of the drag penalty on straights. Most teams introduced their own versions, but the system was eventually banned.

    The MP4-25 also represents the end of an era for McLaren. The team began a decline after the 2010 season, in part because it had to play second fiddle to the Mercedes factory team. Hamilton joined Mercedes for the 2013 season, and has now won six of his seven championships with them. Meanwhile, McLaren is once again achieving solid results, and has gone back to Mercedes power after lackluster years with Honda and Renault power units.

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  • Lewis Hamilton makes F1 history by taking home 92nd win

    Mercedes-AMG’s Lewis Hamilton became Formula One’s winningest driver on Sunday by racking up his 92nd win, or one more than Michael Schumacher.

    Hamilton took home his latest win at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, which played host to a special Portuguese Grand Prix forming the 12th round of the revised 2020 calendar.

    Hamilton has been a consistent top driver throughout his career, with his first win coming with McLaren at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, in what was his debut season. Incidentally, he missed out on the championship title that year to Kimi Raikkonen by just one point. A year later and he had his first title under his belt.

    Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton at the 2020 Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix

    Mercedes-AMG’s Lewis Hamilton at the 2020 Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix

    Given his stellar run this season, Hamilton is almost certain to secure his seventh title in 2020, which will see him equal Schumacher’s record tally.

    Hamilton’s record-breaking win on Sunday was yet another dominant run, though perhaps not at the start where, despite starting on pole, fellow Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz were both able to jump ahead of Hamilton when the lights turned green, and Sainz was briefly in the lead at one point though was passed by Bottas on lap six. Hamilton was able to pass Sainz quickly, too, and eventually passed Bottas about a third of the way through the race.

    From this point on Hamilton cruised to victory, with Bottas finishing second some 25 seconds back. Third place went to Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen some 34 seconds behind the winner. It was an impressive run for Verstappen who, after contact with Racing Point’s Sergio Perez in the first lap, suffered a spin and had to make an unscheduled pit stop.

    2020 Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix

    2020 Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix

    Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also put in an impressive performance. Despite a poor start that saw him lose four places, slipping back to eighth place, he managed to keep cool and fight his way up to fourth at the finish line, passing Sainz, as well as Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen in the process. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly also managed to pass those drivers to secure fifth place.

    There were few dramas, though Racing Point’s Lance Stroll on lap 18 suffered a spin near Turn 1 after coming into contact with Norris. Stroll was able to continue racing but received his first of two time penalties of the race. He received his second for a track limit violation and was later called in by his team while running last.

    Hamilton’s lead in the 2020 Drivers’ Championship now extends to 256 points. Bottas is second with 179 points and Verstappen is third with 162 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes leads with 435 points versus the 226 of Red Bull and 126 of Racing Point. The next round on the calendar is a special Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on this coming weekend at Italy’s Imola.

    Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton at the 2020 Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix

    Mercedes-AMG’s Lewis Hamilton at the 2020 Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix

    Below are the full results from the 2020 Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix:

    1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG
    2) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-AMG +25.592 seconds
    3) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +34.508 seconds
    4) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +65.312 seconds
    5) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri +1 lap
    6) Carlos Sainz, McLaren +1 lap
    7) Sergio Perez, Racing Point +1 lap
    8) Esteban Ocon, Renault +1 lap
    9) Daniel Ricciardo, Renault +1 lap
    10) Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari +1 lap
    11) Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
    12) Alexander Albon, Red Bull Racing +1 lap
    13) Lando Norris, McLaren +1 lap
    14) George Russell, Williams +1 lap
    15) Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
    16) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1 lap
    17) Romain Grosjean, Haas +1 lap
    18) Nicholas Latifi, Williams +2 laps
    19) Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri +2 laps
    NC) Lance Stroll, Racing Point DNF

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  • Lewis Hamilton no longer drives supercar collection because it hurts the planet

    Six-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has a collection of supercars that he no longer drives out of concern for the environment, he said last week during a press conference for the Formula One Tuscan Grand Prix (which he ended up winning).

    Hamilton said the only road cars he currently drives are the battery-electric Mercedes-Benz EQC and Smart EQ ForTwo.

    Hamilton also said he requests to be picked up from airports in electric vehicles wherever possible, and that he no longer flies on his own private jet to help reduce his carbon footprint. He actually got rid of the jet last year.

    The reigning F1 champion previously had quite a car collecting habit. In a 2018 interview, Hamilton said he owned two Shelby Cobras, a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 recreation, a Ferrari 599 SA Aperta, a LaFerrari and LaFerrari Aperta, a McLaren P1, and a Pagani Zonda. At the time, he said the cars were split between Los Angeles and Monaco.

    Lewis Hamilton introduces the Mercedes-AMG Project One at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show

    Lewis Hamilton introduces the Mercedes-AMG Project One at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show

    In 2015, Hamilton entered the Gumball 3000 Rally, driving a Koenigsegg Agera S.

    Hamilton has also been involved in the development of the Mercedes-AMG One hypercar, which uses the actual engine from Mercedes’ championship-winning F1 cars. That development work is taking longer than expected, delaying the start of deliveries to 2021.

    Hamilton recently announced that he is forming a team for the Extreme E electric off-road racing series, which he sees an opportunity to promote greater environmental awareness.

    In January, organizers released a provisional five-race 2021 calendar with races in remote locations like Greenland and Dakar, Senegal. Races will be held without spectators onsite, which should ensure minimal disturbance to the natural environment, and means Extreme E could launch on schedule despite the coronavirus pandemic.

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