Just weeks after purchasing Nigel Mansell’s legendary Williams FW14B, Sebastian Vettel revealed that he intended to add Michael Schumacher’s iconic Ferrari F2004 to his collection after seeing it in action at Mugello.
The historic car was driven round the hills of Tuscany by Schumacher’s son Mick, who is currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 World Championship for Ferrari-backed Prema Powerteam.
Prior to the demonstration, both Vettel and Charles Leclerc took some time to gawk at the V10 beast- with the latter of the two expressing his admiration by saying that ‘It looks very, very nice.’
“It’s part of Ferrari’s history, and it looks beautiful. But mostly, it sounds nice compared to what we have today.”
In an interview with former team-mate and title rival Mark Webber, Vettel disclosed that he was looking at buying the emblematic racecar- only to be disconcerted by the hefty price tag.
“It’s my favourite car,” said Vettel. “We’ve got a lot more downforce nowadays, but this car is 160-170kgs lighter than ours, so it’s a big difference.“
“There was that one, not that exact one, but the same year up for sale, but it was way too expensive.”
Webber jokingly remarked that he remembered ‘hitting this car once in Turkey with Michael’ and that Schumacher ‘wasn’t too happy’ afterwards, although he admirably referred to the car as a symbol of ‘sheer performance’ during ‘extraordinary times’.
Just two weeks ago, Vettel bought Mansell’s title-winning ‘Red 5’ Williams FW14B for an estimated £2.7 million, and he also owns a Ferrari F40 sportscar previously owned by opera legend Luciano Pavarotti.
It’s strange to think that a multi-millionaire four-time world champion would need to worry about money, but in a way it’s reflective of Vettel’s grounded and humble nature. Perhaps he will shell out on another classic in the future, but for now the F2004 remains far away from his garage; sat under the watchful gaze of a proud and no-doubt boastful owner.
