Schumacher F1 cars appear at Paris auctions

Both Bonhams and Artcurial have Michael Schumacher F1s coming up for sale in their upcoming Paris auctions in February. Bonhams has a 1991 Jordan 191 in which the German drove in the Belgian Grand Prix. And Artcurial has Schumacher’s 1995 Benetton B195 on offer.

In 1991, Michael Schumacher was offered a golden opportunity to debut in Formula 1, when regular Jordan driver Bertand Gachot was sentenced to prison after an altercation with a taxi driver in London. Schumacher, back then a Mercedes Junior Team driver in Group C, got the backing from Mercedes and found himself in the Jordan 191 for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps.

Outpacing de Cesaris

The German talent qualified in eighth place (but started seventh), beating his more experienced team-mate Andrea de Cesaris. In the race, the clutch let go on lap 1, bringing a premature end to Schumacher’s debut. But most importantly, he had made his mark in the F1 world. Benetton manager Flavio Briatore quickly signed the German, who would only have one F1 start in the Jordan. From the following Grand Prix, in Monza, Schumacher was in a Benetton.

Chassis 6

The Gary Anderson-designed Jordan 191 was not only Jordan’s first F1 car, it’s also one of the most beautiful F1s ever, in striking green honouring not only the Seven Up sponsorship but also Jordan’s Irish roots. The car in question here is chassis 6. This was in fact Andrea de Cesaris’ regular race car in 1991, but Schumacher practised it as well in the Belgian Grand Prix. Schumacher, however, took the start in chassis 5. De Cesaris would come close to winning the Belgian Grand Prix in chassis 6, but saw his Cosworth HB fail just three laps from the end when his oil pressure sank. Alex Zanardi would race chassis 6 later in the season as well.

1995 world champion

The other car that comes up for auction is with Artcurial is the 1995 Benetton B195. This car comes just four years after Schumacher’s debut in F1, by which time he was already crowned world champion once, if in controversial circumstances after Schumacher collided with Damon Hill in the Australian GP in Adelaide. If 1994 was controversial, then Michael Schumacher would use the 1995 season to silence his critics. His dominance was clear for all to see: nine wins out of seventeen races. By the end of the season, Schumacher won his second of seven world titles.

Judd engine

The car here is chassis 2, which Schumacher used in the early part of the 1995 season. It has since lost its Renault RS7 V10 engine. Instead, this chassis comes with a 3.5-litre V10 Judd engine.

Given the fact a Schumacher championship-winning Ferrari sold for 14 million euros last year, the ambitions are high. Artcurial puts an estimate of 2-3 million euros on the Benetton, and Bonhams hopes the Jordan fetches between 1.4 and 2 million euros.

Bonhams’ ‘Les Grandes Marques du Monde’ is held on February 2^nd, Artcurial’s Retromobile sale takes place on February 3-5.