This is a promoted article for Memento Exclusives
Today is Valentine’s Day and if you’ve only just realised this you may already be in trouble.
Fortunately F1 Fanatic Predictions Championship prize supplier Memento Exclusives can suggest ten gifts which are sure to win over your F1-mad loved one – as long as money is no object.
Michael Schumacher race-damaged 1995 Benetton B195 end plate – £1,999
Michael Schumacher produced some of his finest drives en route to his second world championship title in 1995: winning from 16th on the grid at Spa-Francorchamps, battling through the field at a slippery Nurburgring and elbowing Damon Hill aside at Estoril.
It didn’t always go to plan though: this race-damaged rear wing end plate is the legacy of a visit to the scenery, possibly when he skidded off at a damp Imola during the San Marino Grand Prix.
But if two thousand pounds seems a bit steep to you, consider fast-forwarding to the bottom to find a few more affordable present ideas.
Red Bull salt and pepper set – £2,154
Presented on a carbon brake pad and fashioned from gearbox parts, this has to be one of the most striking ways to season your food. Salt and pepper not included.
Force India engine cover chair – £3,950
If you often find yourself standing around wondering what to drink, this chair made from a Force India’s engine cover featuring their many alcoholic beverage sponsors can solve both problems.
Formula One ‘Raced’ Chess Set – £9,950
“F1 is like a game of chess” said former FIA president Max Mosley, who never grasped that the object of this game isn’t to get your pieces around the board as quickly as possible. Fork over the best part of ten grand for this beautiful set made from race-used parts, and stun your opponents by following up a Sokolsky Opening with an Albin Countergambit.
Signed 1994 Michael Schumacher Bell replica helmet – £11,418
This classic Schumacher helmet design from the year of his first world championship victory is signed by the man himself.
Red Bull exhaust pipe lamp – £14,400
Made from part of the exhaust system from a 2008 Red Bull RB4 the Inconel alloy can withstand temperatures of up to 1,000C, illuminating the room as it glows white-hot. But it’s probably safer to pop a few halogen bulbs in.
F1 OPUS world champions’ edition – £20,000
A book for the price of a library? The five-figure price tag attached to this vast tome is partly due to the fact that it has been signed by every living world champion.
Asiatech AT02 V10 engine – £38,400
Celebrate one of F1’s great moments of underdog heroics: this engine powered Mark Webber’s Minardi to fifth place in the 2002 Australian Grand Prix.
Ayrton Senna Lotus 99T engine cover – £48,000
Misplaced the engine cover for your 1987 Lotus-Honda 99T? Good news: Memento Exclusives have a spare one in stock. Ayrton Senna won twice and took six more podiums in the canary yellow racer before joining McLaren.
Jordan EJ13 – £420,000
For the ultimate money-no-object F1 gift, how about a race-winning grand prix car? One of Jordan’s EJ13s won the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, although it took the FIA until several days after the race to work it out.
More affordable gifts
Covetable though they are, these fantastic products and objects are only realistic purchases for a lucky few. But Memento Exclusives has a great range of more affordable products for F1 fans. Find them here:
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PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
14th February 2016, 12:04
Although £20k is a bit out of my league right now I would love to have the book with signatures if anything from this list.
George (@george)
14th February 2016, 12:32
Wow, I’m pretty surprised a successful F1 car sells for less than £500k, although I guess actually keeping it running will take a substantial amount of cash too.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
15th February 2016, 10:54
It would probably have been worth more had it been the exact race-winning chassis rather than a sibling that happened to also be an EJ13. (The record of the four non-race-winning EJ13s was pretty terrible, featuring three points and many, many failed technical components). The Brazil 2003-race-winning-chassis, last I heard, was on a wall in Brazillian journalist, businessman and F1 fan Otávio Mesquita’s lounge (complete with engine, but probably still not convertible into a runner due to the fire damage it sustained in the race…)
Upside: unlike its more successful sibling, the Memento Exclusives one is a runner (there are, at most, two others in similarly good condition).
lubhz (@lubhz)
15th February 2016, 13:18
Oh @alianora-la-canta I didn’t know that, just googled and it looks amazing on his wall:
Brazilian news UOL photos.
He rented and drove this very same car in Magny Cours in 2000, then promissed he would buy it. The signature we see is from Fisichella. He invited Fisichella for dinner and he was impressed by the look of the car on the wall. He tried to buy it back but ended up only being able to take pictures.
Keisalex
14th February 2016, 13:36
People really are willing to spend money on these stuff? I mean, hey, i LOVE motorsports too, but there’s no way i spend a fortune to decorate my house with used car materials. Gosh, there are people starving in this world, and others are buying a book worth 20k euros, because it’s signed by every single champion.
Wow. Class, people.
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
14th February 2016, 13:58
You are right, but I was just thinking to put my house on mortgage to get that book and live in a cave caressing my Precious (add Smeagol’s voice for full effect).
Jerejj
14th February 2016, 14:02
I couldn’t agree more.
George (@george)
14th February 2016, 14:15
Well maybe whoever sold the book at a massive profit will donate that money to charity. No? OK then.
Fact is most people work hard so they can buy nice things, not so they can throw that money down a bottomless pit.
Keisalex
14th February 2016, 15:02
This is right. People who work honest jobs (is this sentence correct ?) and make money are more than free to spend them wherever they want to- besides, that’s democracy. But this list of products/prizes i’m seeing makes me sick… it serves as a great example of the ignorance a lot of people have for third-world countries.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
14th February 2016, 15:25
Just because others have it worse than me does not mean I cannot be happy.
Keisalex
14th February 2016, 18:44
Also agreeing here. Just spare a thought or two to give something back. Anyway, stopping here. Probably not the right place to discuss it.
Gabriel (@rethla)
14th February 2016, 23:59
I agree with you that everything about F1 is nonsense when you think about large parts of the world. With that said whoever buys this book doesnt matter for the third world, its just a sum of money changing hands.
Neil (@neilosjames)
14th February 2016, 23:30
Classy or not, if I won the lottery I’d buy the whole list.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
14th February 2016, 15:18
Just emailing this to my friends and family…
Robert McKay
14th February 2016, 22:24
Man, I have to say this article generated some odd comments – almost as odd as the Red Bull salt and pepper mill made from gearbox parts. To be honest, if people have got problems with the £20K book, surely they have to have even more serious reservations about Formula 1 itself?
Balue (@balue)
14th February 2016, 23:57
I would have the salt and pepper shakers
Excuse me :D (@square-route)
15th February 2016, 4:44
I too would have taken them, but salt and peppers are not included.
Bad bargain imo
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
15th February 2016, 2:25
The Jordan and the asiatech engine perhaps the only 2 items that are worth the asking price. The items are not that great either. Interesting selection nevertheless.
dragoll (@dragoll)
15th February 2016, 7:30
I’m amazed that the 94′ Schumi Race Replica helmet signed by the man himself is only 12k. I would have thought this would be a more valuable item. Given the significance of the 94 championship
David-A (@david-a)
15th February 2016, 12:57
Is that “2008 Red Bull RB4” or “2012 Red Bull RB8”?