The helmet worn by Gilles Villeneuve throughout his final Method 1 race was bought for a record-breaking $1.25 million – simply over €1 million. This was reported by Darren Jack, CEO of the Canadian firm Corridor of Fame Assortment, which dealt with the sale.
The quantity is a world file for a racing helmet. The earlier file belonged to a helmet worn by Ayrton Senna in the course of the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix. That helmet was bought final yr for £720,000 – equal to round €829,000.
Villeneuve’s helmet had been a part of a personal assortment for practically 30 years. The Canadian Ferrari driver wore it in the course of the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, the place he completed second after Ferrari team-mate Didier Pironi overtook him within the closing levels, regardless of staff orders to decelerate.
Two weeks later, Villeneuve was killed on the age of 32 in a crash throughout qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. He was sporting a special helmet throughout that accident.
“The GPA helmet itself is a particularly uncommon mannequin within the collectors’ world,” Jack instructed Canada’s CBC from the Gilles Villeneuve F1 circuit. “As well as, that is considered one of solely 5 – even perhaps fewer – racing helmets worn by Gilles Villeneuve that also exist.”
The helmet is predominantly purple with black stripes on either side. On the again is a stylised purple “V.”
Gilles Villeneuve in 1982 sporting the helmet in query earlier than the beginning of the San Marino Grand Prix.
Photograph by: Ercolo Colombo
The most costly racing helmets of all time
Gilles Villeneuve – 1982: $1.25 million
Ayrton Senna – 1992: $966,000
Lewis Hamilton – 2023: $387,000
Steve McQueen – 1970: $375,000
Charles Leclerc – 2023: $335,000
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