Kimi Raikkonen’s 2002 McLaren F1 car is up for auction

Want to try your hand at following in the footsteps of one of motorsports most iconic characters, and owning one of Kimi Raikkonen’s screaming Formula 1 cars?

Well now you have your chance, with his 2002 McLaren MP4/17 racer set to go under the hammer at RM Sotheby's St.Moritz auction in Switzerland on September 17.

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Images: RM Sotheby's

The car is McLaren chassis number A-06, using a Mercedes 3.0-litre FO110M V10 engine – which allegedly screamed its way to a stratospheric 18,500rpm and fed 630kW to the rear wheels using McLaren’s seven-speed sequential gearbox.

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The car was designed my McLaren titans Adrian Newey, Mike Coughlan, Neil Oatley and Peter Prodromou, and was campaigned by both Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard from 2002 to 2003. The chassis made its debut at the European Grand Prix in 2002 at the Nürburgring in the hands of Raikkonen, and went on to compete in a total of 12 races across those two years.

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Because this was car on track right in the middle of Michael Schumacher’s peak dominance with Ferrari – during which he won five straight drivers championships – the McLaren doesn’t have any world titles to its name, but it did score a race win at the 2003 Australian Grand Prix with David Coulthard at the helm. The car also achieved several podiums, including two second placed finishes in 2003 at both the San Marino Grand Prix and Japanese Grand Prix with Kimi Raikkonen.

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The car will be sold in its 2002 MP4-17A specification, wearing its West livery (minus the West cigarettes logo) and Raikkonen’s name. It's expected to sell for between AU$2,962,564 and AU$3,703,205 when it goes under the hammer.

Given the Finnish racer recently announced his retirement at the end of the 2021 Formula 1 season, and that bona fide McLaren F1 racers don't come up for sale very often, the figure doesn't seem too far fetched.

You can view the auction listing here.