Lewis Hamilton fulfilled a childhood dream he had been postponing for decades. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion announced the purchase of a Ferrari F40 found covered in dust, after more than 30 years sitting in a garage, and handed the supercar to specialists at the Maranello factory in Italy for a complete restoration.
Instead of looking for an already preserved specimen, the most expensive and disputed among collectors, the Briton chose to recover a forgotten car. The images published by him show different stages of the process, which included the removal of the engine and a deep mechanical overhaul, far beyond an aesthetic reform. According to the driver, the work lasted weeks and was conducted by the manufacturer’s own engineers and mechanics.
Photo: Ferrari | Disclosure
“This is my dream car and always has been, for as long as I can remember,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram. “When I joined Ferrari last year, I made sure to have one with me on my first day at Maranello. It’s how much it means to me.” The reference is to the official presentation as a driver of the team, in January 2025, when he posed next to a unit of the model in front of Enzo Ferrari’s former home.
One year after selling the entire collection
The purchase takes on another contour because, in September 2025, on the eve of the Azerbaijan GP, Hamilton claimed to have disposed of his entire car collection, which included models such as the Pagani Zonda 760 LH, Mercedes-AMG One, Ferrari LaFerrari and Shelby Cobra 427 from 1966. At the time, he said he became more interested in art and made a single exception: if he bought a car again, it would be an F40.
The driver has also expressed his desire to participate in the development of a future Ferrari inspired by the model. The idea, named by him F44 in reference to its race number, would have as its main feature a manual transmission, a solution practically retired by the brand. The project was never confirmed by Maranello.
The last Ferrari approved by Enzo
Launched in 1987 to celebrate the manufacturer’s 40th anniversary, the F40 was produced until 1992 and reached 1,315 units, according to factory records cited by auction house RM Sotheby’s. Equipped with a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V8 and 478 hp, it is pointed out as the last production model personally approved by Enzo Ferrari, who died in 1988, a condition that turned it into one of the most coveted machines by collectors.
Hamilton did not reveal how much he paid for the copy, but the market helps to size the investment. In April, a 1989 F40 with only 1,799 km on the clock was sold for 4.336 million euros, about R$ 26.1 million at the current price, at the RM Sotheby’s auction in Monte Carlo. The result does not indicate the price paid by the British, whose car had been abandoned for more than three decades and needed full restoration.
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