During Scuderia Ferrari’s glorious era two decades ago, the Maranello team reigned supreme in Formula 1. German driver Michael Schumacher achieved championship after championship, filling Maranello’s trophy cabinets. Now, one of his old F1 single-seaters from that amazing era for the Tifosi, the F2001b, is going up for sale at the Sotheby’s Sealed auction later this month.
Despite a short-lived period on the racing track, lasting only three events in the 2002 Formula 1 campaign, the F2001b has a very interesting history. In the modern era of the sport, teams typically design a new challenger each year. However, the Italian side used a modified version of its 2001 challenger, the F2001b, for the first two races in 2002, keeping it as a spare car for the third race in Brazil.
Under Michael Schumacher’s skillful hands, the F2001b secured second place in the qualifying session for the first race of the season, at the Albert Park circuit in Australia and secured an amazing victory on race day in Melbourne. Teammate Rubens Barrichello, who had qualified on pole position on Saturday, would have most likely secured a one-two finish for the Maranello team but unfortunately had a dramatic crash with Ralf Schumacher on the first lap of the race. In Malaysia, Michael Schumacher claimed Ferrari’s 150th pole position and finished third.
Subsequently, the F2002 arrived for the third round in Brazil and became one of the most dominant Formula 1 cars ever. The F2001b remained as the German driver’s spare car, leading to some logistical challenges with tire allocations due to the different wheel sizes between the two models. Nevertheless, the car was raced for a brief but notable period.
The F2001b holds the distinction of being one of Schumacher’s race cars with a victory and a decent track record. However, it was not as prominent in his career with Scuderia Ferrari compared to other cars. Sotheby’s is keeping the estimated price under wraps, available only upon inquiry. Nonetheless, it is expected to fetch a price in the millions, even if it falls short of the astounding $14.8 million achieved by the F2003 sold in 2022.
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“Its public offering presents a vanishingly rare opportunity to acquire a racing car of true historic significance,” reads the Sotheby’s listing – “One that not only carried Schumacher to a famous victory but which played a pivotal role in securing his historic fifth Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship.”
Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari 2001b is scheduled to auction during Sotheby’s Sealed’s Monterey Car Week sales event (August 16-19). No estimate has been provided at this moment.
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