VIN: Michael Andretti's McLaren F1 chassis 028
History of chassis 028
Chassis 028 was supplied by McLaren to American racing driver, Michael Andretti. It formed part of a compensation package paid out after McLaren decided to terminate Andretti’s contract to drive for them in Formula 1.
Andretti had signed a two year deal for the 1993 and 1994 seasons, but he was dropped to make way for Mika Hakkinen after the 1993 Italian Grand Prix.
Built in 1995, chassis 028 was painted Grand Prix Red with cream leather and black carpet.
Unfortunately for Andretti, US laws at the time meant the car could not be registered for road use so it sat unused at the factory.
During this period, 028 was displayed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Silverstone Historic Festival. The Goodwood event took place the weekend after McLaren’s famous win at the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours and 028 was on show as part of the victory corral.
Michael Andretti only kept 028 for around a year. Faced with another twelve months of high storage and insurance costs (and with no prospect of an imminent US law change), he decided to sell.
028 departed for Japan where it remained until 2003.
By the early 2000s, the US import situation had been resolved and, in 2003, chassis 028 was sold to the first of two owners on the East Coast. It returned to the UK in 2014.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
