With the Formula One paddock in Melbourne for the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, fans have been given the chance to own their own piece of the event’s history.
Having qualified in 3rd place at the 2009 Australian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel finished in 13th after colliding with Robert Kubica on lap 56 of 58.
Heading down to turn three, Vettel and Kubica were fighting for position, with neither willing to yield, making a collision inevitable.
Kubica was forced to end his race almost immediately, while Vettel continued driving briefly before parking the RB5 on the grass.
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The stewards ultimately decided Vettel was responsible for the crash, dropping him 10 grid places in the next round of the championship and fining Red Bull, his team at the time, $50,000.
The left front wheel from Vettel’s incident with Kubica is now available to buy on eBay, giving fans the opportunity to own this “very race, race us chance to own piece of Australian Grand Prix historied Red Bull Racing F1 wheel.”
“The wheel is exactly as it came off of the car in Melbourne after the race, including the brake dust, compressed bodywork, wall and circuit debris from being dragged along the ground and all the handwritten notes the team added,” the listing states.
“It has some damage to the outer lip of the rim and considering it made hefty contact with the BMW Sauber, the Albert Park wall and was then dragged round the circuit, it’s quite incredible that this is the only damage,”
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“This is marked up with Red Bull’s numbering system which reads RB5-FS-01095. #194, which means it was used on the 2009 RB5 car and is number 163 of the wheels used by the team that year. There are even some handwritten notes on the outside which states exactly how many KMs this wheel has travelled… just 97km,” it continues.
Vettel would ultimately finish the season runner-up to Button, who secured his first world title for Brawn GP.
Brawn GP also secured the World Constructors’ Championship, pushing Red Bull into second place by 18.5 points.