Michael Schumacher's 2001 F1 car sells for $7.5m, nearly twice its estimate

Sotheby's auctioned one of Michael Schumacher's Formula 1 race cars this week, and it went for an impressive $7.5 million. When the auction house announced the car would be offered, it was estimating that it would go for around $4 million, making this a major success. The company also claims it's the most expensive modern era F1 car sold, though Sotheby's doesn't say what constitutes as "modern." It did sell for about twice what the last Schumacher F1 car sold through Sotheby's went for. That car was from the 2004 season and sold for just under $3.2 million.

This particular car, an F2001 that, not surprisingly, was used during the 2001 F1 championship. It won two of the three races it participated in, and helped Schumacher win one of his 7 championships. It's in racing condition, and Ferrari will help with storage and transport for the car.

The car's sale isn't just about a rich person getting a fancy collectable or toy though. Sotheby's notes that an undetermined portion of the proceeds will go to Michael Schumacher's charity, Keep Fighting. Among the charity's causes are road safety and head safety. The latter isn't surprising considering Schumacher's unfortunate skiing accident in 2013 that left him with a traumatic brain injury.

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