Ayrton Senna 1992 race-worn F1 helmet smashes estimate at auction reaching six-figure sum

A race-worn helmet of three-time Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna has seen a dramatic £100,000 surge in bidding over the British Grand Prix weekend, pushing its current bid to £260,000 at the time of writing.

The iconic piece of motorsport history, which was used by the Brazilian legend during the 1992 F1 season, is currently up for auction for the first time with BUDDS Auctions.

The auction is hosted at the Silverstone Museum on 7 July, and Lot 361 has already obliterated its initial pre-sale estimate of £80,000 to £120,000.

Certified by an official McLaren Certificate of Authenticity and extensively photo-matched to verify it was not used at the French Grand Prix, the Shoei helmet was specifically worn by Senna during the British, German and Hungarian Grands Prix, the last of which he won.

Interestingly, the 1992 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim was the only time in F1 history that Senna shared a podium with Michael Schumacher and Nigel Mansell. At the time, Senna was the reigning champion, competing in what would be the final season of the Honda-McLaren partnership. 

Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP4-7A Honda

Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images

The BUDDS live auction at Silverstone is not solely focused on Senna, however. The event also features a special collection consigned by 1992 champion Mansell. The collection is expected to fetch in excess of £40,000, and all proceeds from Mansell's lots will be donated to UK Youth.

Other items featured in the auction include a Nigel Mansell signed Williams replica children's race suit, a Nigel Mansell signed 1987 period helmet and gloves from the Nigel Mansell Museum, a Charles Leclerc 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend special design used race suit, a Stirling Moss-signed replica gloves, and a Nigel Mansell-signed 1994 Williams-Renault ‘Last Win’ replica gloves.

Various other used race gloves, signed scale helmets, photographs, T-shirts and scale model cars are also included.