2002 Caterham F1 Team Paddock Bike

As all F1 fans out there will know, the fastest vehicles at any F1 circuit are - in order of swiftness - the F1 cars, the safety car, and the nippy little scooters that F1 drivers use to zip around the pit lane and the paddock.

We’ve all seen them. They look like a hoot.

The vendor, who collects all sorts of classic and other automotive bits and pieces, has decided that this is a collector niche he’d like to explore – which is why he has a number of these fabulous little F1 scooters.

This particular scooter sprinted around various paddocks and pit lanes during the 2012 F1 season with Caterham’s Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov gripping the handlebars. 

The Caterham F1 car was a reimagined version of the previous year’s Lotus car, and Kovalainen and Petrov managed to hold their own against teams lower down the order without either ever gracing the podium.

Unregistered for the road, the scooter is showing just 369 miles on its odometer and looks splendid in its very fetching Caterham livery and sponsor logos.

It is in decent all-round condition but, as it’s been in dry storage for a while, we haven’t started or driven it. 

A little light recommissioning should be all that’s required to get it up and running again.

For the most part, this very funky looking, Caterham-liveried scooter shows all the signs of having covered fewer than 400 miles of paddock and pit lane asphalt in its notably quiet life.

But there is some minor damage to note, primarily in the form of some scuffs, scrapes and spots of missing paint in various places. 

There are some scuffs to the decal stripes and Renault logo above the rear wheel on the nearside; a few scuffs on the front, nearside edge of the footplate and on the panel beneath it; some scuffs around the rear nearside edge of the front fairing and, on both sides, some scuffs and scratches around the air scoops on the front fairing; and there are some scuffs at the front of the fairing housing the instrument binnacle.

The wheels are very good, and the tyres look to have plenty of life left in them – but they may be rather past their sell-by-date now. 

The suspension, exhaust and braking systems all look to be in good order as far as we can tell. 

Those of you with a forensic eye for detail will no doubt have spotted that the inside of this scooter is very much in the same place as the outside.

Obviously, motorcycles, mopeds and scooters don’t really have an interior but we’re choosing this section to talk about the seats, instrumentation and controls.

The black vinyl on the main seat is untroubled either by time or use, as is the rudimentary pillion seat - we’ve all seen F1 drivers perched atop the pillion as they make the ride of shame from the location of their crashed and/or broken-down car back to the pit lane.

Who knows? There may be footage of Messrs Kovalainen and Petrov making that ignominious journey?

The bike’s dials, switches and controls look good to us, although, as we haven’t started or ridden it, we can’t vouch for their functionality, efficacy or accuracy.

Again, as we haven’t ridden the bike, we can’t voice an opinion on how well it handles or rides. 

We can say that everything on and ancillary to the engine and drivetrain looks fine to us, bar the odd scuff and scratch here and there.

As for the underside, what you see is what you get. It’s all there, open for inspection, and it all looks good to us with no leaks, drips or damage.

This scooter comes with about as much history as Clint Eastwood in any of the countless films where he turns up, wearing a poncho and chewing a cheroot, at some desperate, fly-blown town inhabited by Mexican peasants.

In other words, none.

But we know what it is, we know where it’s been, we know at least two of the F1 drivers who’ve ridden it, and we know what the odometer says.

Besides, there’s really nowhere for any bad news to hide on a 50cc scooter and we can’t imagine there’s anything worrying lurking in the shadows anywhere. 

Not least because the vendor is a man who really knows his F1 paddock bikes and isn’t in the habit of buying bad ones or anything with even remotely dodgy provenance. 

With fewer than 400 miles on the clock, this is effectively a brand-new scooter that just happens to be 24 years’ old.

That may be why you’ll want to buy it. 

Just as likely, you’ll be looking forward to the puzzled expressions and queries that come your way when you’re waiting at the traffic lights.

“Oh, this old thing?”, you’ll causally opine. “Yes, I bought it when Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov were finished with it”.

Splendid stuff.

We’re confident to offer this fine car for auction with an estimate of £2,000 - £4,000. 

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at THE MARKET HQ in South Oxfordshire. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays (apart from Bank Holidays) between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.