The helmet worn by legendary Formula One driver Ayrton Senna during the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix, where he helped rescue an unconscious rival from a crash, has been sold for a record £720,000 ($966,449).
Auctioneers RM Sotheby’s said the sale beat the previous record of a race-worn helmet set by the sale of one from current Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc. His helmet, from the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix, was sold for £262,700 ($352,315) in June 2023 to raise proceeds for the disaster relief fund of the Emilia-Romagna floods in northern Italy that year.
Leclerc’s helmet, in turn, beat the previous record of £139,100 ($186,551) set in 2019 by the sale of another race-worn Senna helmet, used during the 1990 F1 season.
The 1992 Belgian Grand Prix Senna helmet was created by manufacturer Shoei and was a bespoke racing version of its X-4 model, constructed to be 100-200g lighter than the standard version. Shoei, more famous as a manufacturer of helmets used in motorcycle racing, had only started supplying models to Senna for use in Formula One in 1992.
Senna during the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix (Pascal Rondeau/Allsport/Getty Images)
The helmet offered at auction online by Sotheby’s between April 23-28 features Senna’s trademark yellow-green-and-blue striped livery, as well as the colors of sponsors for the McLaren team where he continued to race in 1992, plus those of its Honda engine supplier.
During practice for that season’s race at the fearsome Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, Ligier driver Erik Comas crashed at the Blanchimont corner and lost consciousness in the impact. His foot remained pinned on the throttle pedal in the aftermath, with the car’s engine still running.
When Senna drove past the wreckage shortly afterwards, he spotted the danger and stopped his McLaren, running back down the track to attend to the stricken Comas while dodging the traffic of other F1 cars, getting to the scene shortly before several track marshals. Senna reached into the cockpit and turned off the engine, which reduced the risk of a subsequent problem with the still-active engine potentially harming Comas. Senna then held Comas’ head in the cockpit until medical crews arrived.
The French driver later claimed Senna had saved his life with these actions. In another famous instance, Comas drove his F1 car to the scene of Senna’s fatal accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix during that race’s red flag stoppage.
The 1992 Belgian Grand Prix was won by then-Benetton driver Michael Schumacher, the first of his 91 F1 victories, while Senna finished fifth for McLaren. Comas did not take part as a result of his accident.
The 1992 campaign came after Senna had won the final two of his three F1 world titles in the preceding seasons, as McLaren and Honda’s previous dominance of the championship began to wane against the rise of Williams-Renault.
(Top photo: RM Sotheby’s)