By Charles Bradley – October 18, 2026
McLaren F1 Cars Offered For Private Sale Features Brad Pitt Test Chassis
For collectors seeking a direct connection to Formula 1 history, few opportunities are as distinctive as acquiring a genuine Grand Prix car from the team that designed, built and raced it. Tom Hartley Jnr has announced the offering of five significant McLaren Formula 1 cars, each presented directly by McLaren Racing and carrying provenance from the highest levels of competition – including one that has been driven by Hollywood A-Lister Brad Pitt. The collection spans 32 years of McLaren’s Formula 1 history, bringing together machinery associated with some of the sport’s most celebrated names, including Ayrton Senna, Gerhard Berger, Jenson Button and Lando Norris. Offered individually, the cars represent a rare opportunity to acquire authentic works McLaren Grand Prix machinery directly from the organization responsible for their competition careers. The five cars range from Senna and Berger’s championship-winning 1991 McLaren MP4/6A to Norris’s 2023 MCL37A, described as the most modern Formula 1 car ever offered for private ownership. But MCL37A chassis #03’s story did not end when its racing career finished. It became an important part of McLaren's official testing program and was driven by an exceptional roster that included Norris, Oscar Piastri, Pato O’Ward, Mick Schumacher, Valtteri Bottas, Martin Brundle, and Brad Pitt. In 2025, Hollywood superstar Pitt piloted the car at a private McLaren test at the Circuit of the Americas in connection with F1® The Movie. Following extensive simulator work and engineering preparation, and wearing his Sonny Hayes helmet from the feature film’s lead character, Pitt reached a reported 197 mph in the contemporary Grand Prix car (pictured above). Five chapters of McLaren history The collection comprises five cars, each with a distinct place in McLaren’s Formula 1 story: 1991 McLaren MP4/6A, Chassis No. 04 1991 McLaren MP4/6A, Chassis No. 07 2012 McLaren MP4/27A, Chassis No. 01 2021 McLaren MCL35M, Chassis No. 01 2023 McLaren MCL37A, Chassis No. 03 Together, these cars trace the evolution of Formula 1 engineering across several generations. The story begins with the naturally aspirated Honda V12 era of Senna and Berger, moves through the naturally aspirated V8 period associated with Button (and Lewis Hamilton, who also tested this MP4/27 chassis), and continues into the turbo-hybrid generation and Norris’s emergence as McLaren’s latest World Champion. For collectors, the significance extends beyond the drivers’ names and the cars’ technical development. Each machine has remained in McLaren’s custody since its final period of competition, preserving a direct connection to the factory team throughout its post-racing life. Factory provenance That uninterrupted connection to McLaren is central to the offering. Each car’s history, identity and provenance remain intrinsically linked to the organization that designed, built and raced it, providing what the announcement describes as an exceptional and unrivaled level of authenticity. The cars will also be prepared by McLaren for their next owner, maintaining the relationship between each machine and the team behind its creation. Rather than offering cars whose histories must be traced through successive private owners, the collection brings together five examples that have remained within the McLaren organization following their racing careers. Their direct presentation by McLaren Racing makes the offering particularly notable for collectors interested in the provenance of significant competition cars. “We have decided to part with these iconic McLaren Formula 1 cars because we feel that having them simply sitting in storage is a disservice to what they represent,” said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. “These cars were built to be driven and raced, and we want to see them being used and enjoyed. We believe that is the best way to keep our history alive and our heritage business active. “Tom Hartley Jnr is the person we have entrusted to handle the sale. Few people understand the Formula 1 car market as well as Tom does, and nobody is more active within it today. We were also very impressed by the way he handled the sale of the Ecclestone Grand Prix Collection, and McLaren has worked with him successfully for many years.” An opportunity to own a piece of Formula 1 Tom Hartley Jnr, described as one of the world’s most respected and exclusive high-end dealers in classic and historic sports cars and racing cars, is handling the sale of all five McLaren Formula 1 machines. The cars are available individually, giving prospective owners the opportunity to acquire a specific chapter of McLaren’s competition history. From the naturally aspirated V12 cars associated with Senna and Berger to Norris’s 2023 MCL37A, the offering captures more than three decades of technological and sporting evolution within one of Formula 1’s most recognizable teams. Tom Hartley Jnr (pictured above, with Zak Brown) said: “I’m very excited to bring this opportunity to market. It is incredibly rare for a collector to have the opportunity to acquire race-driven Grand Prix cars directly from the manufacturer and team that built and campaigned them, and that makes this a very special offering. “We have a great relationship with McLaren and have worked closely with Zak and his team for many years, assisting them with a number of sales. However, to now be able publicly to offer these cars directly on McLaren’s behalf is very exciting, and I’m personally looking forward to finding great homes for them. “When we handled the sales of both the Ecclestone Grand Prix Collection and the Ojjeh Collection, there was significant interest in acquiring individual cars, but ultimately both collections were sold in their entirety to single buyers. There is of course every possibility that the same could happen here. However, these five cars will be offered individually and there is no time pressure whatsoever. Our priority, and McLaren’s, is to find the right homes for them.” All five McLaren Formula 1 cars are now available for acquisition through Tom Hartley Jnr.