Ecclestone sells £500 million car collection to son of Red Bull founder
F1 News
Bernie Ecclestone has sold his Formula 1 car collection to Mark Mateschitz, the son of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz and a close friend of the Ecclestone family. The sale price has not been disclosed, but the collection was previously estimated to be £500 million.
Ecclestone sells F1 car collection to Mark Mateschitz
Ecclestone started collecting these cars more than 50 years ago, which he considered works of art. However, he decided to part with his valuable collection, selling them to Mateschitz, the 32-year-old son of the late Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, becoming the proud owner of the unique collection of 69 F1 cars.
The former F1 group owner previously indicated that his 48-year-old wife Fabiana would not know what to do with the collection after his death, and so for this reason, he decided to get rid of his beloved collection. Ecclestone is happy that the cars will be given to Mateschitz, who inherited his father's fortune in 2022 and owns a 49 per cent stake in Red Bull.
"These are unique vehicles. They have written sports history and marked technical milestones. They embody 70 years of F1 history. It means a great deal to me to know that this collection is now in the very best of hands. Mark is the best and most worthy owner we could ever imagine," the 94-year-old Briton is quoted by Daily Mail.
Mateschitz is delighted with his purchase. "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 and expanded over the years, and in the near future it will be made accessible to the public at an appropriate location," he explained.
Ecclestone began his collection more than 50 years ago, which includes some of the most iconic cars in Formula 1 history. For instance, the collection includes the Ferrari with which Mike Hawthorn became Britain's first world champion in 1958, as well as Ferrari's driven by Michael Schumacher and Niki Lauda.
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
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