Kimi Raikkonen’s infamous Monaco hot tub McLaren up for auction

The McLaren car that Kimi Raikkonen left in Monte Carlo to go and chill on his yacht has been put up for auction.

Raikkonen was a man known for his actions more than his words and one his most infamous moments came during the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix.

Having retired, Raikkonen decided to not head back to the team garage but instead the nearby marina and onto his private yacht.

A different kind of debrief for Kimi Raikkonen

Post-race time for drivers is often full of media interviews and debriefs with the team but during that Monaco race, Raikkonen’s consisted of beers and a hot tub.

The Finn’s heat shield caught fire during the race and burnt its way through the car wiring, resulting in power being lost to the engine. Raikkonen decided to pull over at the exit of Portier turn and hopped aboard his own yacht, being filmed later by the TV broadcast drinking beers in his hot tub as the race was going on.

That very chassis is now available to purchase with it being put for auction at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix later this year by auction house Bonhams.

The Monaco Grand Prix was not the only time Raikkonen drove this particular chassis and he actually scored a podium with it during the season opener in Bahrain.

In the following race in Malaysia he retired during the opening lap before securing P2 and the fastest lap in Australia.

In total, chassis ‘02’ of the MP4/21 was used in eight races with Raikkonen finishing that year fifth in the Drivers’ standings ahead of team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya. It was also the last season Raikkonen drove for Mclaren with the Finn leaving for Ferrari in 2007 where he won the Drivers’ title.

PlanetF1.com recommends

F1 driver contracts – What is the current contract status of every driver on the 2023 grid?

F1 2023 drivers by age – From the oldest to the youngest

Raikkonen’s car is expected to fetch somewhere between $2.5-3.5 million which would put it within the top 10 of the most expensive F1 cars ever sold.

The McLaren is not the only F1 car going under the hammer that day with Mario Andretti’s title-winning 1978 John Player Special Lotus-Cosworth Type 79 also set to be auctioned off.

Given it is a championship-winning car, Andretti’s is expected to fetch a higher price within the region of $6.5-9.5 million which would put it in the top three of most expensive F1 cars to be sold.

Read next:Red Bull express ‘surprise’ that rivals still do not understand their key weapon