Villeneuve helmet sells for $1.25 million, record price

A helmet worn by legendary Formula 1 driver Gilles Villeneuve in his final race has sold for $1.25 million, setting a new record for the most expensive F1 helmet ever auctioned. The sale was conducted by the Hall of Fame Collection, a motorsports memorabilia company.

The helmet was worn by Villeneuve for Ferrari at the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, where he finished second. The race is remembered for teammate Didier Pironi overtaking Villeneuve on the final lap despite team orders to maintain positions. Villeneuve died two weeks later at age 32 following a crash during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. He was wearing a different helmet at the time of his fatal accident.

The auction price shattered the previous record of $720,000, set last year by a helmet worn by Ayrton Senna at the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix. Darren Jack, CEO of the Hall of Fame Collection, stated that the GPA model helmet is extremely rare in the collecting world. He added that this helmet is one of only five, or perhaps fewer, racing helmets worn by Villeneuve that still exist. The helmet had been held in a private collection for nearly thirty years before the sale.