ONE of Ayrton Senna’s race-worn Formula One helmets from the collection of Jersey resident and Formula One world champion Nigel Mansell has collected £500,000 at auction.
The helmet was one of several pieces of F1 memorabilia that former British racing driver Mr Mansell auctioned at the BUDDS Motorsport Icons Live Auction at Silverstone Museum on Tuesday 7 July.
The memorabilia collected four times its estimated sale price of between £80,000 and £120,000, with the final price rising to £625,000 including the buyer’s premium.
Through photographic matching, experts were able to verify the helmet was worn during the British, German and Hungarian Grands Prix.
The sale set a new record for auction house BUDDS. Head of sporting memorabilia David Convery said the helmet was a “testament to Ayrton Senna’s incredible legacy in motorsport”, describing him as being “to F1 what Pele is to football or Ali to boxing”.
“We knew it was going to be popular, but to watch the bids go up by £100,000 over the Grand Prix weekend felt pretty momentous, and to see it sell today for £500,000 was a record price for BUDDS and is an auctioneer’s dream,” he added.
“The new owner has a piece of history in their hands, and a sound investment to boot –interest in F1 memorabilia is soaring and Senna will always hold a special place in the hearts of motorsport fans.
“He’ll be remembered forever for his talent, his sportsmanship and, of course, a poignant sense of what might have been.”
The sale formed part of a charity auction featuring items from Mr Mansell’s personal collection, alongside memorabilia linked to some of Formula One’s biggest names, including Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Valentino Rossi and Michael Schumacher.
Earlier this year, a separate auction of parts of Mr Mansell’s collection – much of it formerly housed at his now-closed car dealership and museum in St Helier – raised more than £82,000 for charity after auctioning off a lifetime of motorsport memorabilia.
