A 2002 McLaren MP4-17A is to be auctioned by RM Sotheby's at its Paris 2026 event. The chassis, one hardened by 12 grand prix starts, was driven by Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard to five podium finishes and a race win.
The car is estimated to fetch anywhere between €1,000,000 and €1,400,000. Designed under the leadership of the legendary Adrian Newey, the MP4-17 struggled during the start of the season, but eventually became capable of fighting with the dominant Ferrari F2002, and was able to reliably finish on the podium.
Chassis 06 was introduced midway through the 2002 season and was primarily used by Raikkonen, who had replaced Mika Hakkinen at the squad. Raikkonen immediately finished third in its debut at the European Grand Prix. The Finn went on to finish second at the French Grand Prix and third at the United States Grand Prix.
But it was 2003 that saw the same car - this time driven by Coulthard and with upgrades - finish first at the opening round of the season in Australia. This was the driver's 13th and final grand prix win of his career.
Its final race, the Japanese Grand Prix of 2003, saw Raikkonen behind the wheel once again. The pairing finished second, behind Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello. But it was Michael Schumacher, who finished eighth in the race, who went on to win his sixth championship title.
Sold with its original 2002 West livery and sporting Raikkonen's #4, it comes with the 3.0-litre Mercedes-Benz FO110 V10 engine. It will, as you'd expect, need a full rebuild before it's used on-track again, but for fans who love this era of racing - of which there are many - this is an incredible investment.
It was kept by McLaren for the 17 years that followed its racing career, and purchased by the current owner in 2021.
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