The crazy supercars F1 drivers own in real life
Published on Jun 12, 2022 at 2:08 PM (UTC+4)
by Robert Percy
Last updated on Jul 04, 2022 at 10:23 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
F1 drivers are paid millions and have the contacts to get the coolest cars ever made, so what are they driving around after a race?
Let’s take a closer look.
Lewis Hamilton
The 7-time world champion has some of the most incredible cars you’ve ever seen.
He’s a long-time Mercedes man, he isn’t narrow-minded when it comes to his car choices.
He has two-thirds of the holy trinity of hypercars, the Ferrari LaFerrari and the McLaren P1.
(The missing piece of the trinity is the Porsche 918 Spyder.)
He also has a McLaren F1 (his is chassis number 44).
Hamilton enjoys a muscle car too and has a Shelby Mustang and two unrestored original Shelby Cobras.
Hamilton is currently on the waiting list for the Mercedes-AMG Project One too.
He helped develop this ultra-exclusive hypercar, which is powered with Formula 1 powertrain tech made by Merc’s high-performance team in Brixworth.
He’ll be one of the first to receive one, alongside his old teammate Nico Rosberg.
And if the living legend ever wants to go off-road, he’s well-equipped thanks to the Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6.
Not bad for a guy whose first car was a Mini!
For his daily errands, he reportedly prefers to ride a motorbike.
This is probably due to the heavy traffic in Monaco, where he lives.
Sebastian Vettel
Much like his good friend Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel has a massive car collection.
One of his most prized possessions has to be his Ferrari F40.
It was once owned by opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, so it’s got some serious celebrity ownership clout.
As a former Ferrari F1 driver, naturally he has owned a whole stack of Ferraris.
He sold the amazing F50 pictured below, as well as a Ferrari Enzo and a LaFerrari at an auction last year.
(The prices weren’t released, unfortunately).
He also owns several Formula 1 cars, including one of his own Red Bulls and a Williams FW14B that was driven by Nigel Mansell.
The Williams doesn’t run at the moment, but Vettel has said that he would like to take it out on the track and drive it.
He also owns a sizeable collection of motorcycles, which he prefers to use for urban trips.
His daily driver is an Aston Martin DBX.
This car was spotted by F1 broadcaster Ted Kravitz at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix earlier this year.
SUVs must be a theme in Seb’s car history, as his first car was a BMW X3 that was given to him – he was a BMW works driver at the time.
Max Verstappen
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The 2021 world champion’s coolest purchase has to be his Dassault Falcon 900EX jet, but he does have some amazing cars too!
He reportedly dropped a huge amount of money on a Porsche 911 GT3 RS after his first win at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
He also owned several Aston Martin models during the brand’s partnership with Red Bull.
He is on the waiting list for the $3 million Valkyrie.
This car was designed by his Red Bull colleague Adrian Newey.
He’s also said to own an example of the ultra-exclusive Ferrari Monza SP2.
By owning this, he joins an elite club that includes Gordon Ramsay and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
His first car, however, was a much more humble affair.
When he passed his driving test at the age of 18, he did so in a Renault Clio!
Charles Leclerc
The Monegasque driver made quite a stir at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this year when he showed up in his personalised Ferrari 488 Pista Spider.
You’ll definitely know it’s Charles’s car if you see it!
It has his racing number on the side and the Monegasque flag running down the centre of the hood.
He also owns one of his old Ferrari SF90 Formula 1 cars.
The SF90 has huge sentimental value to him, as he won two races back-to-back in it in 2019.
Lando Norris
Norris is one of the fastest drivers in the F1 paddock and his garage matches his team.
Being a McLaren driver, the young fan favourite naturally has owned a few.
He’s also owned a bright yellow Renault Megane RS in the past, provided to him by McLaren’s old powertrain partner.
Much like his fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton, his first car was a Mini.
Carlos Sainz
Up until very recently, he still drove Volkswagen Golf.
The Golf was a gift from his parents when he became legally allowed to drive on the road.
That changed with his move to Ferrari though, as he now has his own Ferrari road car.
For some reason, he has been very secretive about exactly what model Ferrari it is.
But Ferrari did upload this video to YouTube about it.
When he was at McLaren, he had a couple of McLaren road cars like former teammate Norris.
He had a 720S and he also took delivery of a 600LT Spider during his time at Woking.
Both of these McLarens had very understated and unflashy specifications.
His 720S was grey, his 600LT was black.
George Russell
Lewis Hamilton’s new teammate is a Mercedes man through and through.
He’s shown off a couple of his AMG Mercs on his social media.
These include a grey GT-R and a white C63 coupe.
With his new employers definitely offering Russell a bigger paycheck than he’s had before, perhaps he’ll invest in some more cool rides?
Afterall, Mercedes does hold the crown of the most expensive car in the world.
Valtteri Bottas
Near the end of his tenure with Mercedes, he received a very special version of the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series.
His one has a replica of the black livery Mercedes used in 2020 and 2021.
It’s been rumoured that it was a goodbye present to Valtteri from his old team.
Before that, he had a blue AMG GTS that he put up for sale to raise money to save a karting venue in his home town of Lahti, Finland.
The winning buyer got to have a private karting session at the circuit with Valtteri himself!
Fernando Alonso
One of the F1 legend’s favourite cars may come as a bit of a surprise.
Alonso loves the R35 Nissan GT-R and he’s often been seen behind the wheel of his personal one.
He’s also owned several Ferraris over the years, including a 599 GTB Fernando Alonso edition.
This very special V12 Ferrari was created in celebration of him winning the British Grand Prix for Ferrari 60 years after they won the very first running of that race.
An extremely limited number of them were made and they frequently go for big bucks at auction.
Alonso has an enormous collection of racing cars too.
There’s even a museum in Spain dedicated to his career called the Fernando Alonso Sports Complex.
It’s filled with hundreds of cars, many of them belong to Alonso and include racing vehicles like his first pro go-kart, to the F2 and F1 cars he has raced in his lengthy career.
He also has an Alpine A110 like his teammate Esteban Ocon.
Daniel Ricciardo
The Aussie has had an affinity for the McLaren brand long before becoming one of its drivers.
He bought an unspecified McLaren road car not long after he came into F1 and travelled to the McLaren Technology Centre to spec it out.
This apparently caused a big kerfuffle at the time, as his presence at a rival team’s base had to be kept very discreet!
He was also spotted in a blue McLaren 675LT several years before he became an employee at Woking.
He hasn’t talked that much about what cars he currently has, although he has revealed that he currently owns a Ferrari 275 GTS.
This is a very sought-after classic that must have cost Danny Ric a fair bit of his multi-million dollar salary!
We haven’t seen Danny’s, but here’s a beautiful example of a Ferrari 275 GTS that Sotheby’s had for sale in Abu Dhabi.
It’s also been confirmed that he has owned an Aston Martin V12 Vantage, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, a Ford F-150, a Porsche 918 Spyder and a Vespa scooter.
Commenting on the 918’s incredible performance in an interview with The Sunday Times, he said that “everything feels a bit slow after an F1 car.”
Well, that’s one way to put things!
Like his old teammate Max Verstappen, he is also reportedly on the waiting list for the Aston Martin Valkyrie.
This is all a very far cry from his early cars, which included a Toyota Hilux, a Fiat Punto and a VW Golf GTI.
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Gasly’s car of choice is one of the most underrated supercars you can currently buy.
He owns a third-generation Honda NSX that was gifted to him by Honda’s vice-president!
The Frenchman is often known for his quiet yet brilliant drives, so the understated nature of the NSX probably suits him well!
He’s also had a Honda Civic Type R in the past.
Lance Stroll
Apparently, he isn’t a car guy at all and prefers to do as little driving as possible away from the circuit.
This is very surprising, considering he’s a racing driver and his dad Lawrence Stroll has a huge car collection!
As a result, we don’t really know what he drives.
He’s often seen driving in Aston Martins, so it’s very likely that he’s got at least one sitting in his garage at home.
He makes up for that though by having a Bombardier Challenger 604 jet.
Mick Schumacher
Mick Schumacher may be the son of one of Formula 1’s most successful drivers ever, but he doesn’t seem to be one for flashy cars.
This F1 driver’s first car was a humble Mercedes A-Class!
We don’t know what he currently drives, but considering he’s possibly in line for a Ferrari seat he might have a gorgeous personalised one like Charles Leclerc.
He seems to be more into motorbikes, as he’s often been seen riding around on a Yamaha MT-09.
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I'm a freelance writer and journalist originally from London, but currently living in Swansea in South Wales. I've had a huge passion for cars, music and aviation since I was very young. More recently, I've also developed a passion for motorsports, pro wrestling, investing and real estate.
