The 2022 Formula 1 season kicked off last month as 2021 champion Max Verstappen took the Saudi Arabia checkered flag with fellow Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton only capable of crossing the line in tenth position.
Hamilton and Verstappen dominated the 2021 F1 season, notching 18 Grand Prix wins amongst themselves over the 22 races. Although it was Verstappen who ultimately took home the title in dramatic fashion following a controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December. Today, we compare which two drivers have a nicer personal garage given the multi-million dollar contracts they received.
Max Verstappen
Max is the youngest driver to start and win a Formula 1 Grand Prix and he did it with his first race for Red Bull Racing. The Belgian-Dutch not only drives a supercar on the Formula One circuit but also has a stunning collection of automobiles at his disposal.
The partnership of Red Bull with Aston Martin has helped Max to gain access to some of the best cars around the globe. We’re certain the extra £12m (S$21m) for clinching his first-ever Formula 1 World Championship did help pay off the bills for some of his flashy cars.
Aston Martin DB11
There are some advantages of being an F1 driver and Verstappen has proven it once again. In 2019, Max received an Aston Martin DB11 courtesy of Red Bull.
The DB11 which is the street-legal version of the James Bond DB10 comes with a twin-turbocharged 5.2-litre V12 engine producing 630hp, and the car costs around $245,900 (S$330,000). We’re certain the Dutch race car driver has a good taste for cars; after all, it was this car that drove Aston Martin back into profit.
Aston Martin Vantage
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This Aston Martin Vantage cost the Dutchman about $161,000 (S$216,000). It comes with a V12 engine that can reach 100 km/h in just under 3.5 seconds. Max is known to have taken the car for a few drives around the tracks. It wasn’t long before he traded the car for another one of Aston Martin’s creations, the DBS Superleggera.
Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
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Max now has the DBS Superleggera in his collection. The car contains a 5.2-litre twin-turbo V-12 engine which produces 730hp, and the total cost of the car is about $316,300 (S$429,000). We’re uncertain if the DBS Superleggera would be coming to Singapore, but one other Aston Martin is, and it packs a 5.2-litre bi-turbo V12 engine.
Ferrari Monza SP2
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Although being part of the Red Bull team for several years, this hasn’t stopped Max from adding a Ferrari to his car collection. Verstappen bought one of the most exclusive cars of the Scuderia group, the Ferrari Monza SP2.
Max’s Monza SP2 cost him over $1.8m (S$2.4m) and it comes with a 6.5-litre V12 engine that allows it to reach a speed of 100km/h in just 2.9 seconds. One other car that matches Max’s Monza SP2 for 0 to 100km/h is the Ferrari 296 GTB. It’s the Italian maker’s second plug-in hybrid (PHEV) , and first deliveries are expected in early 2023.
Porsche 911 GT3 RS
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Verstappen drew the attention of the motorsport world when he won the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing and became the youngest millionaire after signing with them. He celebrated his win by spending big on a Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
The car features a 4.0-litre engine that produces 520 hp and takes only 3.2 seconds to go from 0 to 100km/h, with a top speed of 312km/h. If your middle name happens to be ‘speedy’, CarBuyer Singapore’s Derryn Wong reveals what you need to know about the Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton was so close to clinching his eighth World Championship title last year at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Despite losing out to rival Max, he still holds the joint record of seven Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles.
Obviously, his exotic selection of vehicles comes as no surprise, given his career choice. Today, we take a look at the cars owned by the British race car driver.
1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
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Hamilton’s GT500 resembles one of the famous Eleanor models from the film Gone In 60 Seconds. This is thanks to a replica done by Oklahoma-based customization shop Classic Recreations to his ’67 Shelby GT500.
If you happen to share a similar taste in cars like Lewis, perhaps you might want to check out how does Singapore’s ARF car tax affects you before deciding on which car you’re thinking of driving home.
McLaren P1
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The Ultimate Series McLaren is reportedly based at his residence in Monaco, and he has often been spotted out and about in it. This is the other member of the famed ‘Hypercar Trinity’ in Hamilton’s collection. Lewis purchased the car not long after switching over to the Mercedes F1 team from McLaren – nostalgia, perhaps?
Given that the new Mclaren 765LT Spider is only limited to 765-units apiece , we wonder if Lewis is considering the 765hp, 4.0-litre bi-turbo V8 engine supercar.
Mercedes-AMG GTR
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The AMG GTR is one of Hamilton’s daily drives, and he once described it as his favourite Mercedes car, after the Formula One race car. Now that the AMG GTR Pro version is out don’t be surprised if Hamilton trades in his AMG GTR for the new ‘King of the AMG pile.’
The overall look of the new Mercedes-AMG SL is now more reminiscent of Hamilton’s AMG GTR, emphasised by the large AMG grille upfront for a more balanced and sportier design.
Pagani Zonda 760 LH
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Lewis sure loves limited edition cars, and the Zonda LH sits at the top of that pile. He splashed almost $2 million (S$2.6m) to acquire this naturally aspirated V12 Monster. That must be a loose change for an F1 driver. Unfortunately, he crashed the Zonda a few years ago in Monaco, which he blamed on fatigue.
If you had S$2.6m in the bank as loose change, what new car would you be looking at this 2022 ?
Mercedes-AMG G63 6X6
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There is no shortage of variety in the Hamilton car collection, and this veritable 4-ton monster is proof of that. The G63 6X6 is, by some distance, the most extreme SUV ever created by the Mercedes brand. The massive vehicle has a road presence unlike any other. Maybe that’s why Hamilton went for it. That and the fact that it’s a limited-edition vehicle.
Speaking of shortages, 2021 did not see any sort of shortages of super-luxe cars. Instead, the numbers only got higher, especially during the period of the pandemic year.
This article was first published in CarBuyer.