A Formula 1 chassis which took Michael Schumacher to the first of his 91 Grand Prix victories has been sold at auction for a huge sum.
The Benetton B192-5 chassis was used by the Enstone-based squad – the genesis for the current Alpine outfit – during five races in the 1992 season, Schumacher’s first full campaign in the sport.
Designed by South African Rory Byrne [who went on to design every one of Schumacher’s seven title-winning cars], the car helped Benetton to third place in the Constructors’ Championship, with Schumacher being partnered by current Sky F1 commentator Martin Brundle.
At the Belgian Grand Prix, Schumacher demonstrated his usual nous of wet-weather driving on the changeable Spa-Francorchamps circuit to take his maiden victory by over half-a-minute.
The car – the last manual transmission in F1 history to win a race – was retained by Benetton and was subsequently owned by the Renault Classic Collection.
Handled by Broad Arrow Auctions, the car was sold for €5,082,000, around £4.4 million.
Whilst it fell short of the estimated €8.5 million, the car’s sale price still places it close to the top 10 most expensive F1 cars sold at auction.
The victory cemented Schumacher’s status as one of the fiercest talents in F1 at the time, and set him on the path to a further victory in Portugal a year later, followed by the first of his seven title triumphs in 1994.
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