Lewis Hamilton’s race suit to be auctioned for NHS Charities Covid-19 appeal | GRR
A 2019 race suit worn by six-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton is just one of the tempting lots on offer in a special online Bonhams auction where all proceeds are going in support of NHS Charities Covid-19 appeal.
The great and the good of the motorsport world are doing their bit for the NHS by donating a range of lots to the Bonhams Blue Auction, which is now underway, with an auction end date of April 29th at 12.32pm.
Star lot for motorsport fans promises to be the race suit the Mercedes driver wore during free practice at the Monaco, Austrian and British Grands Prix in 2019, the year Hamilton won his sixth drivers’ title, all as verified by the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team which has donated the suit to the Bonhams sale.
When we last looked (April 16th) the suit had been bid up to £1,700, suggesting it might have a way to go yet. After all, as Bonhams says, this is a pretty special opportunity to own a piece of motor racing history. The record for an F1 race suit at auction is the €55,500 (about £48,300) paid in Monaco earlier this year for a 1991 Ayrton Senna F1 suit.
Other F1 race suits in the charity auction include that of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas (currently £220) and the suit worn by BWT Racing Point driver Sergio Perez in the first races of 2020 (currently £110). Sergio has even promised to congratulate the winning bidder on their purchase with a personal video call when the auction is over! For McLaren fans, the signed race suit of the youngest-ever Brit to race in F1, Lando Norris, is also up for grabs (currently £1,400).
Two other motorsport lots have caught our eye. One, donated by Jonathan Williams, is for a Williams F1 VIP experience at the 2021 British Grand Prix with all the must-have goodies: grandstand seats, paddock access, hospitality in the Williams motorhome, pit lane walks, pit viewing session and driver meet and greet plus behind the scenes at race ops and a tour of the Williams factory and museum. The F1 works then, and no surprise this one is already up to £4,800 (as of April 16th).
The must-have lot for fans of blue and orange race cars is a VIP ticket for four people to the new Rofgo Collection of Gulf-sponsored cars in Hampshire. Your guide? None other than Adrian Hamilton who has spent the past eight years assembling the 38 cars – Ford GT40s et al – for this most special collection on behalf of Roald Geothe, who has donated the lot to the auction. Today (April 16th) this is only on £220, so this could be one to watch. You and your guests even get to sit down for lunch with Adrian…
A tennis masterclass at the All England Club in Wimbledon with Greg Rusedski, a riding lesson with UK champion flat racing jockey Oisin Murphy, and a round of golf with BBC Breakfast/Strictly host Naga Munchetty are just three other lots in this star studded, not-for-profit auction. Some of the UK’s leading actors, musicians and artists have also pledged lots.
Bonhams is waiving all charges in the auction so 100 per cent of the proceeds will go to the NHS Charities Covid-19 appeal to help support the health and wellbeing of NHS staff and volunteers. The appeal has a target of £100 million and the money will be spent on supporting NHS staff and volunteers caring for Covid-19 patients.
“The NHS staff and volunteers are heroes to us all,” Patrick Masson, Bonhams UK managing director, says. “We at Bonhams are honoured to host this initiative and to donate the skills we have at our auction house to support those who are working so hard for us on the frontline.”
Have you decided what you are going to bid for yet? Don’t forget, the auction runs until April 29th.
Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.