Michael Schumacher’s Benetton F1 car is up for sale at FOS

The 1993 car was the Rory Byrne-Ross Brawn predecessor to the car that took Schumacher to his 1994 world championship, and its potential was already in evidence. Riccardo Patrese drove this very car to third place at the British Grand Prix in 1993, behind only Schumacher in the sister car and race winner Alain Prost in the Williams-Renault FW15C.

In addition to a number of testing laps prior to the season start, Schumacher also used this car to set his qualifying runs for the Silverstone round, scoring third on the grid for the race start. Every world championship Grand Prix this car finished in 1993, it did so in the top six point-scoring positions.

If it looks familiar to regular Goodwood viewers, that’s because it was last seen in action at the Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport in the ‘V10-Era’ Formula 1 demonstration. With its original 3.5-litre Ford HB V8 and Benetton transmission, this B193B will be sold in ‘on the button’ demonstration-capable condition, with the engine de-tuned for reliability and passive suspension taking the place of the active system the car used in period.

The car has spent the past 18 years in regular use on-track and as such, has been regularly maintained to a high standard. The seller is described as a "dyed-in-the-wool F1 and Benetton enthusiast", who ran the car at Goodwood, Silverstone and in South Africa at the Durban circuit, where Jody Scheckter drove the car.

Included with the car will be extensive records of its history and maintenance, with detailed records of its specific livery presentations for each race. It will also be sold with seat mouldings for both Schumacher and Patrese, the latter who had previously signed both his seat and the car’s tub. There’s also another set of seatbelts marked with RP and MS, in addition to a spare gearbox casing, pairs of wheels, radiators and steering racks.

One of just two of these Benetton F1 cars running anywhere in the world, this car is a no-brainer for buyers who want an F1 car they can buy, experience and drive. If we could, we really would.