Ecclestone sells car collection for record price

Bernie Ecclestone (right) put his collection up for sale in December 2024

Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has sold his historic car collection to Red Bull heir Mark Mateschitz for a world-record price.

Ecclestone, 94, said in late 2024 that he would sell the 69-car collection.

The fleet includes Ferraris raced by F1 world champions Niki Lauda, Mike Hawthorn and Michael Schumacher, Brabhams raced by Carlos Pace, Lauda and Nelson Piquet, and a Brabham-Alfa Romeo which was raced just once.

Despite interest from sovereign funds, Ecclestone's collection was sold to the billionaire son of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who has vowed to make the collection accessible to the public.

Though it has not been disclosed how much Mateschitz paid for the cars, seller Tom Hartley Jnr told BBC Sport it was "the largest single transaction ever concluded in the car collecting world and by several multiples".

It has been reported the collection was worth about £500m.

"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.

"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."

Mateschitz, who inherited his father's 49% share in Red Bull following his death in October 2022, told the Daily Mail: "I am very pleased that Bernie has placed his trust in me to take care of this historically significant collection.

"It 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."

Ecclestone agreed in a civil settlement in 2023 to repay about £653m to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) after pleading guilty to fraud.

The Englishman, who received a 17-month suspended prison sentence, said his decision to sell the fleet was because he did not want to "leave" it for his wife Fabiana to resolve after his death.

"With a bit of luck I might get two or three more years and I don't want to leave all this for Fabiana to sort," Ecclestone told the Telegraph.

"All these car dealers would be driving her mad."

Ecclestone's collection is reportedly worth about £500m