The final race helmet worn by Formula 1 legend, Gilles Villeneuve, has become the first driver helmet ever to sell for over $1million, bringing in $1.25m [\u00a3930,000] at auction.<\/p>\n
This auction breaks the highest price ever paid for a driver\u2019s helmet by some distance, with the previous highest auction price coming for Ayrton Senna\u2019s 1992 Belgian Grand Prix helmet at \u00a3720,000, or $966,000.<\/p>\n
Gilles Villeneuve helmet surpasses $1m in auction first<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Villeneuve\u2019s helmet, worn in the race at the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix, had been largely kept in a private collection before being made available for auction, with news of its sale coming via Darren Jack, CEO of the Hall of Fame Collection in Canada.<\/p>\n Only one of two helmets the Canadian used in the 1982 campaign, this piece was his race helmet throughout 1982 up to that stage, in which he took second place at Imola.<\/p>\n Villeneuve\u2019s driving style and approach to racing saw him became idolised in his time at McLaren and particularly Ferrari<\/a>, with his race number of 27 still closely associated with him to this day.<\/p>\n His helmet design too became iconic, with a black base complemented with a stylised \u2018V\u2019 shape in red \u2013 a design which current Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc, ran in tribute at the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n The sale was not just a sign of the helmet\u2019s rarity, but the standing in which Villeneuve was held within Formula 1, despite him not having won a world championship.<\/p>\n \u201cThe GPA helmet itself is an extremely rare helmet model in the collecting world,\u201d Jack told CBC.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso, this is one of only five, maybe, that exist ever of Gilles Villeneuve race helmets.\u201d<\/p>\n More from the world of Formula 1 memorabilia<\/p>\n Revealed: Top 10 most expensive F1 cars ever to be sold at auction<\/a><\/p>\n McLaren F1 2026 car sold for huge $11.4m in world-first auction<\/a><\/p>\n Melanie Villeneuve, Gilles\u2019 daughter, added that such a sale was testament to \u201chow well my father\u2019s legend still lives on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes you think that maybe his story has something super valuable for our general culture,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo where did he come from, why was he able to achieve what he achieved with so little means. It\u2019s such passion, so there\u2019s a human story to it that is very valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ferrari driver died in a high-speed accident during qualifying at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, aged 32, with a different helmet having been worn at the time of his crash.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n