Gilles Villeneuve’s final F1 race helmet breaks auction record

The helmet worn by Gilles Villeneuve during his last Formula 1 race was sold for a record-breaking $1.25 million – just over €1 million. This was reported by Darren Jack, CEO of the Canadian company Hall of Fame Collection, which handled the sale.

The amount is a world record for a racing helmet. The previous record belonged to a helmet worn by Ayrton Senna during the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix. That helmet was sold last year for £720,000 – equivalent to around €829,000.

Villeneuve’s helmet had been part of a private collection for nearly 30 years. The Canadian Ferrari driver wore it during the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, where he finished second after Ferrari team-mate Didier Pironi overtook him in the closing stages, despite team orders to slow down.

Two weeks later, Villeneuve was killed at the age of 32 in a crash during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. He was wearing a different helmet during that accident.

“The GPA helmet itself is an extremely rare model in the collectors’ world,” Jack told Canada’s CBC from the Gilles Villeneuve F1 circuit. “In addition, this is one of only five – perhaps even fewer – racing helmets worn by Gilles Villeneuve that still exist.”

The helmet is predominantly red with black stripes on both sides. On the back is a stylised red “V.”

Gilles Villeneuve in 1982 wearing the helmet in question before the start of the San Marino Grand Prix.

Photo by: Ercolo Colombo

The most expensive racing helmets of all time

1. Gilles Villeneuve - 1982: $1.25 million 
2. Ayrton Senna - 1992: $966,000
3. Lewis Hamilton - 2023: $387,000
4. Steve McQueen - 1970: $375,000
5. Charles Leclerc - 2023: $335,000