09/03/2025
NEWS STORY
Bernie Ecclestone has sold his fabulous collection of F1 cars to Mark Mateschitz, son of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz.
The collection of 69 cars, on which, when putting the collection together, Ecclestone was advised by the late Dr Mike Lawrence, included Ferraris raced by legendary World Champions such as Mike Hawthorn, Niki Lauda, and Michael Schumacher, and Brabhams raced by Nelson Piquet, Carlos Pace, and, again, Niki Lauda, among them the one-off the fabulous Brabham-Alfa Romeo BT46B 'fan car' (above), which raced only once, victoriously, to win the Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp in 1978 by more than half a minute.
"They've gone to a good home, which is the real thing I was interested in making sure," Ecclestone told Reuters. "They'll present them somewhere, into a museum so people can have a look at them for a change which has never happened before.
"It's good. I'm more than happy that's where they've gone. I wouldn't have sold them to just anyone unless I knew where they were going to finish up. They're going to build something like a museum and that's where they'll be."
According to the Daily Mail, Mateschitz has said the collection, which had been maintained at Biggin Hill in Kent, will be "carefully preserved, expanded over the years, and in the near future it will be made accessible to the public at an appropriate location".
It has not been revealed how much the collection went for, though sections of the media are claiming around £500m ($645m).
Ecclestone, who admits that some of those interested in the collection were the "wrong people" and he did not want to sell to them, said: "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."