A RARE opportunity to buy an Australian Grand Prix winning Formula 1 car has emerged.
International auction house Sotheby’s has listed the McLaren MP4-17D in which David Coulthard won the action-packed 2003 instalment of the Albert Park event.
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Coulthard qualified just 11th under the new-for-2003 one-lap format but emerged victorious in a race that started in damp conditions and featured seven lead changes.
The winning chassis, MP4-17A-06, contested a total of 12 Grands Prix across the 2002 and ’03 seasons, driven by both Coulthard and teammate Kimi Raikkonen.
Its results sheet features five other podiums, including a second place in its last race with Raikkonen at Suzuka in 2003 that left the Finn two points short of the world title.
The car is offered for sale in its 2002 MP4-17A specifications and presented in the famous West McLaren livery.
It’s listed with a price guide of CHF2,000,000 – CHF2,500,000 ($2.96million-$3.7million AUD) and is set to go under the hammer in Switzerland on September 17.
The sale of the car is timely given that Raikkonen has announced he will retire from F1 at the end of this season.
Raikkonen made his F1 debut with Sauber in 2001 and spent the following five seasons at McLaren before a move to Ferrari netted the 2007 world title.
