A 2013 Mercedes-AMG Petronas W04 Method 1 automotive pushed by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton offered for $18.815 million at a current RM Sotheby’s public sale in Las Vegas. That beat the pre-auction estimate of $10-$15 million. It additionally beat the earlier trendy F1 automotive file of $14.9 million for an ex-Michael Schumacher 2003 Ferrari F1 set final 12 months.

Hamilton and Mercedes have been one of many winningest combos in F1 historical past, because the Brit received six of his driver’s championships with the workforce. It began in 2013, when Hamilton switched from McLaren to Mercedes—a workforce then on the rise.

2013 Mercedes-Benz AMG W04 Method 1 automotive pushed by Lewis Hamilton – Photograph credit score: RM Sotheby’s

After years of supplying engines, Mercedes stepped up and acquired what had been the Brawn GP workforce (and previous to that Honda), remodeling it right into a manufacturing unit workforce for the 2010 season. Even with the legendary Michael Schumacher partnering with the promising Nico Rosberg, the workforce required a number of years of rebuilding to develop into aggressive once more. Hamilton changed Schumacher for the 2013 season, simply as that rebuilding interval was bearing fruit.

The automotive offered at public sale is chassis F1W04-04, which Hamilton drove in 14 of the 19 races within the 2013 season, together with a win at that season’s Hungarian Grand Prix and third-place finishes in Malaysia, China, and Belgium. The Hungarian Grand Prix win was Hamilton’s first in a Mercedes F1 automotive.

2013 Mercedes-Benz AMG W04 Method 1 automotive pushed by Lewis Hamilton – Photograph credit score: RM Sotheby’s

This was additionally the final season for F1’s naturally aspirated 2.4-liter V-8 engines. The W04’s engine boasts an 18,000-rpm redline and produces 750 hp, with an extra 80 hp accessible briefly bursts from a kinetic vitality restoration system (KERS). For 2014, F1 switched to its present turbocharged 1.6-liter V-6 hybrid powertrain format. Mercedes was initially effectively forward of rivals in each energy and reliability, setting the workforce up for years of dominance.

That dominance has receded quicker than an F1 automotive being overtaken on an extended straight. Hamilton received his final driver’s championship in 2020, and Mercedes took an extra constructor’s championship in 2021. However since then Purple Bull and Max Verstappen have been the mix to beat. Chassis F1W04-04 is a reminder of when Hamilton’s best interval of success was nonetheless sooner or later.