Rare Ferrari

1/43 Hotwheels Ferrari F2003-GA
Michael Schumacher

For some reason Mattel produced this particular diecast in relatively low quantities. Still, I think this diecast was produced in the thousands. Having said all that, I think this diecast is probably the rarest Mattel Hotwheels Michael Schumacher car in 1/43 scale. It is not often seen on ebay and when you do spot one, the prices range from US$40 to around GBP60, way below the standard retail price of only US$20





The Ferrari F2003-GA was designed by Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn for the 2003 F1 season. Its development was based on the previous Ferrari F2002, and featured bulbous sidepods and a lengthened wheelbase to aid aerodynamics. The engine and gearbox were developed versions of the previous model. The car was designated "GA" as a mark of respect to Gianni Agnelli, the recently deceased head of Fiat.

The car was introduced just before mid season in 2003, as the F2002 was seen as good enough to be competitive whilst the F2003-GA was developed further. The car was fast and competitve, but had a tendancy to overuse it's tyres, which led to several late race tyre problems in mid seasons, during the unusually hot European summer. As a result, Williams and McLaren were able to mount a consistent challenge to Ferrari and push Michael Schumacher for the championship.

After Bridgestone engineers discovered Michelin were using tyres which changed construction, causing the French tyre maker to provide remoulded tyres late in the season, Ferrari became competitive again, and were able to hold off bot Williams and McLaren for the constructors' championship, whilst Schumacher snatched his sixth drivers' title, breaking Fangio's record which had stood for 46 years.

The car won seven races, five pole positions, and five fastest laps before being replaced with the F2004 in 2004, a car which was almost identical to its predecessor.