Bernie Ecclestone puts his legendary £500m F1 collection up for sale

Ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has put his legendary collection of cars up for sale.

The collection consists of 69 cars, ranging from a 1931 Bugatti Type 54S to Michael Schumacher’s iconic 2022 championship-winning Ferrari F1 car.

The 94-year-old is selling it off through UK-based performance car specialist Tom Hartley Jnr.

Other highlights from the collection include F1 cars driven by champions such as Mike Hawthorn, Niki Lauda and Schumacher.

A number of Brabhams, the team which Ecclestone owned during the 1970s and 1980s, also feature.

Ecclestone is keen to sell his collection as he would “like to know where they have gone” and not make it a job for his wife, Fabiana Ecclestone, in the coming years.

“I have been collecting these cars for more than 50 years, and I have only ever bought the best of any example,” Ecclestone said.

“I love all of my cars, but the time has come for me to start thinking about what will happen to them should I no longer be here, and that is why I have decided to sell them.

“After collecting and owning them for so long, I would like to know where they have gone, and not leave them for my wife to deal with should I not be around.”

Hartley Jnr confirmed the collection is worth “well into the hundreds of millions”.

He added: “There are many eight-figure cars within the collection, and the value of the collection combined is well into the hundreds of millions.

“The collection spans 70 years of racing, but for me the highlight has to be the Ferraris.

“There is the famous 'Thin Wall Special', which was the first Ferrari to ever beat Alfa Romeo, Alberto Ascari's Italian GP-winning 375 F1 and historically significant championship-winning Lauda and Schumacher cars.”

A tough time for Ecclestone

The former F1 boss has had a tough year, becoming the UK’s second biggest tax payer.

He was forced to pay the hefty settlement after he was found guilty of failing to declare more than £400m held in a trust in Singapore.

Ecclestone was spared jail after he agreed to pay £652.6m in tax.

Ecclestone was in charge of F1 for over 40 years, with the sport becoming increasingly popular under his stewardship.

His tenure came to an end in 2017 when Liberty Media acquired ownership. 

Since then, Ecclestone has only made sporadic F1 paddock appearances.

He caused a stir when he claimed he and former FIA president Max Mosley knew about the events of ‘Crashgate’ - when Renault fixed a race to ensure Fernando Alonso won the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

This in turn had an impact on the 2008 title race and is potentially the reason Felipe Massa didn’t win the world championship.

Following Ecclestone’s initial admission - which he later denied - Massa pursued legal action.