The Mercedes W04, the Formula 1 car the Brackley-based squad used during the 2013 season, has sold at an auction in Las Vegas for over $18 million. The car was the first Mercedes challenger to be driven by Lewis Hamilton as he left McLaren at the end of the 2012 campaign. Hamilton joined childhood friend Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, replacing Michael Schumacher who opted to retire from F1. The duo would go on to endure a famous F1 rivalry from 2014 to 2016 when they battled for the Drivers' Championship. However, prior to its dominant run in the turbo hybrid era, Mercedes ended the 2013 campaign second in the Constructors' Championship behind Red Bull. Hamilton secured his first Grand Prix win with Mercedes behind the wheel of the W04, prevailing at the Hungarian Grand Prix - Mercedes' only victory that season. The exact car that was sold was Chassis F1W04-04, which competed at 13 of the 19 Grands Prix staged in that year. Four of Hamilton's podium finishes were accomplished in the car, including third-place finishes in Malaysia, China and Belgium as well as his victory in Hungary. The car was auctioned on November 17 in Las Vegas during F1's inaugural weekend at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit. The new owner of the car dished out $18,815,000 (€17,235,480) to secure it as their own.
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