McLaren Is Selling Five Historic F1 Cars Because It Wants Them Back On The Track

Tom Hartley Jnr will place five McLaren Formula 1 cars, from 1991 MP4/6As to Lando Norris’s 2023 MCL37A, with private collectors worldwide.

Photo by: Tom Hartley Jnr

By: Brian Potter

Oct 19, at 11:00am ET

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Five Formula 1 cars spanning McLaren's entire modern history are heading to the private market, each sold directly by the team that built and raced them. Tom Hartley Jnr, the Oxfordshire-based dealer known for handling some of the biggest Grand Prix car sales in the world, has been appointed by McLaren Racing to find buyers.

The group ranges from two 1991 MP4/6As driven by Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger to Lando Norris's 2023 MCL37A, described as the most modern Formula 1 car ever offered for private ownership. All five are being sold individually. No prices have been disclosed.

Three Decades Of McLaren Racing History

McLaren F1 Cars For Sale - Zak Brown and Tom Hartley Jnr

Photo by: Tom Hartley Jnr

The collection covers 32 years of McLaren's Formula 1 history. It includes two 1991 MP4/6A chassis, #04 and #07, a 2012 MP4/27A, the 2021 MCL35M, and the 2023 MCL37A.

Every car has stayed in McLaren's custody since its final race and will be prepared by the team before reaching a new owner.

Chassis #04 finished second at the 1991 San Marino Grand Prix behind Senna, part of a race where both McLaren drivers lapped the entire field. That's a feat achieved by teammates in the same chassis type only once before in Formula 1 history. The car's naturally aspirated Honda RA121E V12 helped deliver McLaren's fourth consecutive Constructors' Championship that season.

Its sister car, chassis #07, finished second at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and was never crashed during its racing career. Senna tested both MP4/6As the following year, tying each one directly to the three-time champion as well as to Berger.

The 2012 MP4/27A, chassis #01, was raced by Jenson Button during the closing stages of that year's title fight. It recorded the fastest lap at the Indian Grand Prix among seven pole positions and three wins that season. Lewis Hamilton also tested the car, though never raced it.

Norris Cars Bridge McLaren's Past

2021 McLaren MCL35M

Photo by: Tom Hartley Jnr

The 2021 MCL35M, chassis #01, was raced exclusively by Norris and reached the podium at Imola, Monaco, and Monza. That run included McLaren's 1-2 finish at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, the team's first Grand Prix win since 2012. At Monaco, the car wore McLaren's Gulf special livery.

The 2023 MCL37A, chassis #03, is the newest car in the group and also the one McLaren calls the centerpiece of the sale. Norris drove it to back-to-back second-place finishes at the Singapore and Japanese Grands Prix. The chassis later became part of McLaren's development work toward the team's 2024 and 2025 title success.

After its racing career, chassis #03 entered McLaren's official testing program, driven by Oscar Piastri, Pato O'Ward, Mick Schumacher, Valtteri Bottas, and Martin Brundle. Actor Brad Pitt also tested the car at Circuit of the Americas while preparing for F1 The Movie, reportedly reaching 197 mph.

According to McLaren, acquiring a car this recent directly from a works Formula 1 team is unprecedented. Collectors have typically had to wait decades before a Grand Prix chassis enters private hands.

Gallery: McLaren F1 Cars For Sale

Source: Tom Hartley Jnr

McLaren Explains Why It's Selling

Zak Brown, chief executive officer of McLaren Racing, said the team would rather see the cars used than kept out of sight. "We have decided to part with these iconic McLaren Formula One cars because we feel that having them simply sitting in storage is a disservice to what they represent," Brown said.

Brown also pointed to Hartley's track record with the team, referencing an earlier collection the dealer brought to market. "We were also very impressed by the way he handled the sale of the Ecclestone Grand Prix Collection, and McLaren has worked with him successfully for many years," he said.

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Hartley said he expects the same pattern seen in two previous collections he sold, where individual buyers were interested but a single buyer ultimately took everything. "There is of course every possibility that the same could happen here. However, these five cars will be offered individually and there is no time pressure whatsoever," Hartley said.

Hartley's business sold more than $900 million worth of collectible cars in 2025, including Bernie Ecclestone's 69-car Grand Prix collection for a reported £500 million ($665 million). That deal followed Hartley's sale of a record-breaking McLaren F1 GTR, a sign of where the market for McLaren racing history now sits.