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The 2002 McLaren MP4 17D is heading to auction through RM Sotheby’s this week. After Kimi Räikkönen announced he was going to retire at the end of this Formula 1 season, this McLaren F1 car is up for grabs. How historically significant is this race car? Pretty sarn significant for both McLaren and Räikkönen.

Kimi Räikkönen’s McLaren F1 car is hitting the auction block

McLaren F1 MP4 17D car
The McLaren F1 MP4 17D car | RM Sotheby’s

The RM Sotheby’s listing notes that the 2002 McLaren MP4 17D will be up for grabs later this month. Räikkönen and David Coulthard both drove the McLaren back during the 2002 season. It was one of the first cars used at the start of a record-breaking race career.

The McLaren F1 car helped the team place in a variety of other races like the Monaco Grand Prix and placed third in the onstructors’ Championship. After that, the McLaren MP4 17D helped the team again places third for the Constructors’ Championship. It helped get the McLaren Formula 1 team to six podium finishes and a win at the 2003 Australian Grand Prix.

This McLaren MP4 is equipped with the 3.0L Mercedes-Benz V10 engine that produced 845 hp at 18,500 rpm. The livery features on the 17D made it the sixth vehicle to wear the West McLaren Mercedes livery.

Be more specific about the McLaren MP4 17D

This Formula 1 car is currently configured in 2002 MP4-17A configuration. Sotheby’s says that Räikkönen drove chassis number MP4-17A-06 on his first race. He qualified sixth for the Grand Prix of Europe and ended up finishing third overall in the car just behind Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

“Presently configured in its 2002 MP4-17A configuration and wearing its original West livery, this Formula 1 car has an excellent race history at the hands of two storied drivers and highlights the competitive nature of McLaren’s engineering prowess.”

RM Sotheby’s

The McLaren F1 race car participated for two seasons, but generally saw success and helped McLaren refine the vehicle.

F1 cars have a history bringing in a lot of money

McLaren MP4 17D F1 car | RM Sotheby’s

So if you are sad that Kimi Räikkönen is retiring, keep an eye on the auction for. It might set the tone for more auctions in the future, especially related to his time in Formula 1. This McLaren F1 car is about to bring home quite a bit of money.

Not too long ago, Lewis Hamilton’s 2010 Turkish GP winning McLaren MP4-25A brought in $6.67 million dollars. This almost broke a record previously held by a vehicle driven by Michael Schumacher. Schumacher’s 2001 F2001 sold for $7.52 million back in 2017. It is no surprise that such historically important cars go for a lot of money, but the numbers are a bit overwhelming.

The McLaren F1 team is having another pretty good year and perhaps one of the current cars will go up for auction some day. This rare race car is supposed to bring in between $2 million and $2.7 million when the auction beings on Sepetmber 17. The buyer’s premium is 15% under around $200,000 and 12.5% over that amount. Rest assured it will bring in more than $200,000.

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Amanda Cline

Amanda Cline is an avid fan of Formula 1 and joined MotorBiscuit in 2021. A Southwest Floridian, she easily and often finds automotive events to attend in the Tampa, Orlando, and Miami areas.
Amanda is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where she earned a Bachelor’s in English Literature and a Master’s in Technical Communication. Combining her editorial and digital media expertise, Amanda served as a content creator for FanSided and now provides our readers with a variety of automotive subject matter like pickup trucks and SUVs, including valuable consumer advice.

Amanda closely follows many F1 drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team. Her all-time favorite author is Shel Silverstein.