Most expensive Formula One cars in the world

• Motor Sports and especially Formula One, is one of the most expensive sports in the world because of the high cost of manufacturing the cars
• Formula One teams keep re-designing the cars to ensure efficiency and success in the competitions
• Mercedes-Benz W196 is the most expensive Formula one car in the world, and the machine was introduced in 1954

 Formula One has existed for 70 years and has seen some astounding machines compete.

The Formula One cars are so expensive because they are built with the latest and greatest technology.

They are manufactured from the strongest and lightest materials available. They have the most powerful engines and the most advanced aerodynamics. Formula One cars are also the most heavily regulated cars in the world.

They have to meet strict safety standards and are subject to rigorous testing. The high cost of Formula One cars is also because they are only raced for one season.

After a season, a Formula One car is retired and replaced with a new model. This means that teams must constantly invest in new cars, which drives up the cost. Despite the high cost, Formula One cars are in high demand.

They are the pinnacle of motorsports and are coveted by drivers and teams all over the world.But the eternal question is: which is the most expensive? Here is a list of the most expensive Formula One vehicles.

1. The 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196

Price: $29,700,000

The 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 is the most expensive F1 car, it was sold at $29.7 million. Photo: Top classic car auctions

Mercedes-Benz W196 was introduced in 1954 for the Formula One season and used the following year, and it was driven by the finest driver lineups in F1 history, Sir Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio.

The W196 was victorious in the two drivers championships with Fangio and nine wins,eight pole positions 17 podiums, and nine fastest laps in the 12 races.

The W196 was operated by a revised method of the V12 engine used in the Messerschmitt BF109E warplane from World War II.

It was also Mercedes-last Benz’s F1 car until it returned to the sport in 2010 with Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher.

The Machine W196 sold for $29.7 million at a Bonhams auction in 2018, making it the most expensive F1 car ever sold and one of the most expensive cars ever auctioned.

2. Ferrari F2001

Price: $7,504,000

The Ferrari F2001 is the second most expensive F1 car, it was sold at $6.5 million Photo: Whichcar

The Ferrari F2001 was the car that prompted Michael Schumacher to his second F1 championship in red and his third of seven world championships overall.

The F2001 won ten of the twenty races in which Schumacher contested, and he and teammate Rubens Barrichello scored 26 podiums, 13 pole positions, and three fastest laps with this stunningly fast Machine.

If not for several reliability issues, Barrichello would have easily added to the car’s overall win rate.

The F2001 was so successful that Ferrari used it as a provisional car for the first three races of the 2002 before being replaced by the all-conquering F2002

Sotheby’s sold a Schumacher F2001 for $7.5 million in 2017, placing it second on the all-time list of F1 cars sold at an auction.

3. Ferrari F2002

Price: $6,643,750

The Ferrari F2002 was sold at 6.6 million. Photo: Carscoops

The Ferrari F2002 is widely regarded as one of the best F1 cars. The Machine won 15 of 19 races with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello as the drivers.

Its dominance enabled Schumacher to secure his fifth F1 world championship at the French Grand Prix, equaling Fangio’s.

The F2002 was also used for the first four races of the 2003 Formula One season, and in a beautiful end to such a dominant racing machine, Schumacher won the 2003 San Marino Grand Prix.

Its successor, the F2003 GA, was still a title contender in Schumacher’s hands, but it did not have the same power level as its predecessor, and the German won his sixth.

The exact F2002 that Schumacher used to win his fifth world title sold for $6.6 million in 20219 at Sotheby’s Abu Dhabi auction 

4. McLaren Ford MP4/8

Price: $5,010,870

The McLaren Ford MP4/8 was auctioned at about $5 million. Photo: Youtube

Even though the Ford 3.5-litre V8 produced less power than the Renault, the MP4/8 was one of the season’s most technologically advanced vehicles. Thanks to new electronic engine management, powertrain control, and telemetry strategies adopted by the McLaren Group and TAG Systems.

Three-time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna drove the MP4/8 to six wins, including a sensational wet-weather victory at Donington Park and the 6th win in Monaco. 

Despite losing the 1993 Formula One championship to Alain Prost’s Williams Renault, this famous McLaren sold for more than $5 million at the 2018 Bonhams Monaco auction.

5. Williams Renault FW14B

Price: $3,773,198 million

Williams Renault FW14. Photo: Sports car digest

The Williams Renault FW14 is on of the most technologically superior Formula 1 cars.

The Adrian Newey-designed FW14, which debuted for the 1991 F1 season, was packed with then-groundbreaking technology such as a semi-automatic transmitter, active suspension, ABS and traction control, all prohibited in F1 cars.

Due to a series of reliability problems, the FW14 lost the 1991 championship to Ayrton Senna’s McLaren Honda.

Still, the 1992 car – the FW14B – took Britain’s Nigel Mansell to an extensively dominant 1992 driver’s championship victory congratulations to even more tech and the powerful Renault V10 engine.