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

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 staff. It began in 2013, when Hamilton switched from McLaren to Mercedes—a staff then on the rise.

After years of supplying engines, Mercedes stepped up and acquired what had been the Brawn GP staff (and previous to that Honda), remodeling it right into a manufacturing facility staff for the 2010 season. Even with the legendary Michael Schumacher partnering with the promising Nico Rosberg, the staff 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 bought 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.

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 power 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 staff up for years of dominance.

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