This is how much you have to pay to buy Schumacher's Jordan

The Jordan 191 in which Michael Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut is up for sale. Auction house Bonhams estimates the car's value at between 1.4 million and two million euros.

Iconic car from a remarkable race weekend

Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut in 1991 at the Belgian Grand Prix. The later world champion did not have a permanent seat at the time but fell in with Jordan's team. Regular driver Bertrand Gachot could not compete in the race because he was in prison for an altercation with a taxi driver. In his place, Schumacher was put in the Jordan 191. Although Schumacher had never driven on the Spa Francorchamps circuit before, he still qualified in seventh place and was half a second faster than his experienced teammate Andrea de Cesaris.

The race itself was by no means a success story for Schumacher: after only two corners his clutch failed and the German was allowed to retire. But his qualifying had impressed him so much that both Jordan and Benetton immediately offered him a contract. Schumacher eventually chose Benetton, with which he later became world champion in 1994 and 1995.

So although Schumacher did not spend much time in the Jordan 191, it was this car that launched the career of one of the most legendary drivers in Formula 1 history. The car will be auctioned on 2 February in Paris alongside a series of other classic and memorable cars. Incidentally, Schumacher's Jordan is not the most expensive car in the series: that honour goes to a yellow Bugatti Type 55 convertible from 1932. Bonhams estimates the value of that car to be between three and four million euros.