Michael Schumacher's Obscure Ferrari F2001b F1 Car Is Up for Sale

In Ferrari's last golden era, the Italian team was nigh-unbeatable in Formula 1. Michael Schumacher was bagging championships left, right, and center, filling the trophy cabinets at Maranello. His old F1 cars from that era are worth millions as storied pieces of motorsport history, and now another is up for sale.

As reported by CarBuzz, Michael Schumacher's F2001b is hitting the block at the upcoming Sotheby's Sealed auction in August. The car has some fascinating history despite a short-lived career on track that lasted just three races in 2002.

In the modern era of F1, teams inevitably design a fresh car for each season. However, Ferrari was a little late in doing so for 2002 and started the season with a modified version of its 2001 challenger, known as the F2001b. Schumacher would use the car for the first two races of the season, while keeping it on hand as a spare car for the third round in Brazil.

In Schumacher's hands, the F2001b qualified second in the opening round in Australia. The German driver would go on to claim victory on Sunday, however. Teammate Rubens Barichello had qualified his car on pole, only to be wiped out in a dramatic crash with Ralf Schumacher on the first lap. At the next round in Malaysia, Schumacher claimed Ferrari's 150th pole position, later finishing third after a dominant performance by the powerful BMW-Williams cars.