While most F1 fans know that Michael Schumacher spent his debut F1 season with Benetton Ford, the German prodigy actually made his debut for the Irish Jordan-Ford team at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix. The very car which he raced in on that fateful Sunday is about to go under the hammer at auction, just a year and a half since it was last sold.
After winning the 1990 German F3 championship Schumacher was given the chance by Jordan-Ford to race his first F1 Grand Prix, where he qualified an astonishing seventh and was immediately given a permanent seat driving for Benetton. The 7UP-green racing car earned its place in the history of motorsport and after it was last sold in mid-2021, returns to the market via the Bonhams auction house with an estimate of between €1.4 million and €2 million (AU$2.1m – $3.1m).
Presented in running condition and hot off the back of a photo shoot with the F1 legend’s son and current McLaren F1 reserve driver Mick Schumacher, the 1991 Jordan-Ford 191 F1Â racecar was once voted the best-looking F1 car in history. It’s unusual for such a historically important vehicle to be offered up for sale again so quickly after it was last sold, but for anyone who missed out last time – now’s your chance to write that wrong.
