Top 10 Most Valuable: 1992 Grid Formula 1

The 2023 Formula 1 season is underway, and interest in F1 cards is heating up as a result. Sales of drivers who have already performed well, like Fernando Alonso who podium’d in Bahrain, are up – both from a volume and dollar standpoint.

In recent years we’ve also seen sales volume of vintage sets increase alongside hype for the start of a sports season.

Sure enough, the 1992 Grid Formula 1 Michael Schumacher card is up more than 15% over the last 14 days during the build up to Bahrain. Prior to this time period, the card was down between 10% and 42% over the last 365 days.

It’s going to shock no one that legend Michael Schumacher’s #51 Base from that set will be the top selling card again and again, but are there other cards in that set that are selling?

You can likely snag an unopened sealed full set of the 200 cards for less than $90 on eBay.

With interest in Formula 1 continuing to build for a third straight year, and spill over into this 1992 Grid Formula 1 set, it’s worth a look.

Note: Sales data is based on the last 365 days.

1. Michael Schumacher 1992 Grid Formula 1 #51 Base PSA 10 – Sold for $1,300 on 3/20/2022

This is by far the most desirable card in the set. In fact, this card sale in various grades makes up about 99% of all sales from this set. Schumacher raced in F1 from 1991-2006 and again in 2010-2012 while winning seven championships. The 1992 Grid Formula 1 card #51 is a true base rookie, and has a PSA 10 population of 376. The portrait style card features the legend sans helmet, a precursor to the most popular ultra-modern F1 cards.

Digging deeper into sales of other grades?

2. Ayrton Senna 1992 Grid Formula 1 #34 Base SGC 8.5 – Sold for $129.99 AUD ($86 USD) on 1/4/2023 – 

The Brazilian tragically died in an accident while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix driving for Williams Racing, slightly ahead of Schumacher. At the time, he was the defending F1 champ, after winning in 1988, 1990 and 1991. He won 41 races in his tragically shortened career, with 80 podiums. Had he not passed away at age 34, there’s a solid chance he and Schumacher would have been battling it out closely for several more years towards many championships. It’s no surprise that astute F1 historians and fans have looked for Senna cards in solid condition and paid to get them graded and/or acquire them in high grades as a part of the renewed popularity in F1.

This card also sold in PSA 10 on March 2, 2023 for $80, in PSA 9 for $21.50 on February 26, 2023 and in SGC 9 for $25 on December 24, 2022. 

3. Aryton Senna 1992 Grid Formula One #67 PSA 9 – Sold for $47.50 on 12/25/2022

Senna’s cards appear to have a solid market in a relatively-overlooked vintage set. The #67 features a close-up of Senna with his helmet on in his McLaren – where he won all three of his titles.

It should be noted that this card sells more often than many other cards on this list, and it’s interesting that it sold twice for more than $100 back in October 2021 via PWCC’s Monthly Auction.

4. Michael Schumacher 1992 Grid Formula 1 #84 PSA 9 – Sold for $38 on 2/26/2023 – 

The German raced for Benetton from 1991-1995 amid some contract disputes with Jordan, whom he was with in previous years. This card isn’t as popular as the Base rookie with his helmet off, but is still a cool close up shot with his helmet on, eyes visible and focused. 

5. Michael Schumacher 1992 Grid Formula 1 #194 PSA 8 – Sold for $32.50 on 3/6/2023 – 

The #194 is a cool historical shot from his debut race, a year before the release, on August 25, 1991. While he didn’t perform well at all due to a broken clutch early in this race, he was ready to begin his historic career.

6. Michael Schumacher 1992 Grid Formula 1 #18 SGC 8.5 – Sold for $26 on 3/6/2023 – 

As we’ve seen in modern releases, there are base portraits, helmet-on close-ups, and action shots of the driver in their car racing. The #18 is the latter from the 1992 Grid set, with Schumacher in his Ford coming around a turn.

7. Mika Hakkinen 1992 Grid Formula 1 #45 CSG 10 (lot of 3) – Sold for $43.22 on 3/8/2023 – 

The Finnish-born driver won F1 Championships in 1998 and 1999 for McLaren, and logged 20 wins in his career with 51 podiums. His Base #45 rookie sold for about $14 each in this scenario. Hakkinen currently works as an F1 analyst for Viaplay.

8. Ayrton Senna 1992 Grid Formula 1 #188 SGC 8 – Sold for $1.25 on 2/28/2023 – 

It’s more than a little odd that this helmet-on close-up of Senna sold for only $1.25 in SGC 8, considering it costs $30 to get it graded. Nevertheless, sometimes “value” is different from “sold price.” We’ll see if Senna’s cards increase in value moving forward.

9. Ayrton Senna, Gerhard Berger, J.J. Lehto 1992 Grid Formula 1 #102 Raw – Sold for $0.99 on 2/27/2023 – 

Another low-price sale, but notable card, in that it features three drivers celebrating on the podium, a different type of insert than what we’ve analyzed before.

10. Ayrton Senna 1992 Grid Formula 1 #115 Raw – Sold for $0.99 on 2/27/2023

Again, not a significant price, but a notable card design, featuring Senna hoisting a first-place trophy on the podium after capturing the Australian Grand Prix title.

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Paul Hickey is a regular contributor to Sports Card Investor, the creator of the Sports Card Investment Report at NoOffseason.com, and the host of the Sports Card Strategy Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. He can be found on Instagram at @sportscardstrategy and on Twitter @nooffseasoncard.