You could own Michael Schumacher’s old blue Ferrari F355

Fancy owning F1 legend Michael Schumacher’s old Ferrari F355?

Well you could because the seven-time F1 world champion’s Ferrari F355 will be auctioned off by RM Sotheby’s between 4 and 7 February.

The 1996 F355 GTS is believed to the first Ferrari that the F1 great drove as his personal sports car when he joined the Italian outfit. Schumacher used it in Monaco until late 1997.

The Ferrari is finished in Bel Le Mans over a Pella Crema leather interior and is fitted with six-speed manual gearbox. A letter from Cavalleri Monaco Motors confirms they serviced the car for Schumacher.

It was the year before the F355 gained the option of the ‘F1’ style semi-auto paddleshift gearbox.

It has a 3.5-litre, 375bhp, 40-valve V8 engine which was capable of reaching 8500rpm and has a mileage of around 29,500 miles.

Given it was owned by Ferrari’s greatest-ever driver, it is bound to be a popular item at auction.

“According to the consignor, in his capacity as a motoring journalist following Formula 1 during the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix, he had the opportunity to approach Michael Schumacher when he was driving for Mercedes-AMG and asked him about his old F355 GTS. To his surprise, Schumacher instantly remembered the car when shown a photo, remarking that he was happy it found a new home with a true enthusiast,” RM Sotheby’s note.

“Not afraid to enjoy his new F355 GTS to the fullest, the car was driven straight home to Belgium from Monaco when purchased and has been used regularly by him, being driven simply for fun or to various car events in his native Belgium.

“It has been featured in three different magazine articles whilst in its current ownership: the November 2006 issue of Forza magazine, the March 2013 issue of the German magazine Ferrari World, and the June 2021 issue of Auto Trends Classic magazine, which was published in both Dutch and French.

"In 2017, the car won Best of Show at Spa Italia in Belgium. Minichamps even made a series of 1:43 scale models of this car in a display with Michael Schumacher as the background. Having been driven approximately 21,000 km prior to his purchase, the car is showing just under 47,500 km from new at the time of cataloguing.

“The car was granted Ferrari Classiche certification in 2020, confirming that it retains its original chassis, gearbox, bodywork, and is finished in its original colour combination. The Classiche certification also confirms that the car is no longer fitted with its original engine, but one of the correct type. Rumour has it that the car was equipped with an up-rated engine when delivered new to Michael Schumacher, but this has yet to be proven conclusively. The car was fitted with the current engine prior to the consignor’s purchase in 2004.

“Throughout its current ownership, the car has always been serviced by authorized Ferrari service centres and serviced as advised at regular intervals. Numerous invoices from its current ownership are on file, as well as invoices from Monaco Motors in 2002 and 2004 prior to its acquisition by the consignor.

“The F355 GTS’ last major service was carried out by F.M.A Ferrari in September 2024 and included fitting a new windscreen, new rear brake pads, timing belts, spark plugs, a new battery, and restoration of the dashboard.”