The 1991 Jordan 191, the car in which Michael Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut, will be up for auction next month.
The car, which was designed by Gary Anderson, will be auctioned off by Bonhams in Paris, France on Thursday, 2 February.
Schumacher drove the number 33 car during the first free practice session at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, his first official F1 session.
For the rest of the weekend, he drove the number 32 car, in which he’d go on to qualify seventh, but failed to finish the race, retiring on the first lap with a clutch issue.
Jordan had brought in Schumacher for the weekend to replace Bertrand Gachot, who got into legal trouble and was being held in police custody ahead of the grand prix.
Since the 1991 season, the car has changed hands several times. It was last up for sale in 2021.
Part of the Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris auction, Bonhams auctioneers estimate the value at €1.4 – €2 million.
The car is in runnable condition and has been run as recently as 2021, when Mick Schumacher drove it at Silverstone to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his father’s F1 debut.
It comes with “an extensive documentation file”, including a copy letter from Jordan team engineer Trevor Foster, which recalls the events of that weekend.
Bonhams, who is handling the sale, writes: “Here BONHAMS has great pleasure in presenting to the market the 1991 Formula 1 car in which legendary seven-times Formula 1 World Champion Driver Michael Schumacher actually posted the very first of his long career’s sensational performances, during the very first practice session preceding his pinnacle-class racing debut, in the Belgian Grand Prix of 1991.
“This Jordan-Ford 191 is the actual chassis in which the charismatic young German newcomer staggered all onlookers by immediately clocking eighth fastest practice time during the initial ‘FP1’ session in practice for that race at Spa-Francorchamps.”
