Need 900 Billion to Buy All... British Billionaire Selling 69 F1 Cars

Cars Driven by Legends Like Michael Schumacher

Bernie Ecclestone, the British billionaire who led the international motorsport competition 'Formula One (F1)' until 2017, has attracted attention by putting up for sale a collection of 69 race cars once driven by F1 legends.

Foreign media including the British public broadcaster BBC reported on the 1st (local time) that "former F1 chairman Ecclestone has decided to sell race cars driven by motorsport legends such as Michael Schumacher (Germany), Niki Lauda (Austria), and Nelson Piquet (Brazil)."

Former F1 Chairman Bernie Ecclestone. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

Born in 1930, Ecclestone served as the chairman of the world’s most prestigious motorsport competition, F1, for 40 years from 1978 to 2017. The total market value of the 69 race cars he put up for auction is estimated to be as high as 500 million pounds (approximately 886.6 billion Korean won).

Among the cars for sale are Ferraris driven by Schumacher, Lauda, and Mike Hawthorn (UK) when they won F1 Grand Prix races, as well as Brabham cars driven by Piquet and Carlos Pace (Brazil). Also included in the sale is Sterling Moss’s 'Vanwall VW10' model, which won the first British F1 Grand Prix in 1958.

Former F1 Chairman Bernie Ecclestone and motorsport legend Michael Schumacher. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

Ecclestone, now 94 years old, emphasized that these are "race cars collected over a long period," describing them as "fantastic, historic, and rare works of art."

He added, "I love all the race cars, but I have thought deeply about what will happen when I am gone," explaining, "That is why I decided to put the race cars up for sale." He also joked, "I want to know where the race cars I have collected over the years go. I didn’t want my wife to have to deal with selling them when I’m not around."

Meanwhile, F1 is the world’s largest motorsport event, a sport that tests the speed of racing cars regarded as the pinnacle of automotive technology. As of last year, it generates an annual revenue of 3.2 billion dollars (approximately 4.5 trillion Korean won). In its home country, the UK, famous automobile companies gather every year to invest astronomical amounts in research and development (R&D) to produce racing cars.