Charles Leclerc’s entire race suit from the recent Monaco Grand Prix has been sold at auction, including, his specially designed helmet in recognition of his home Grand Prix.
The items were auctioned off by RM Sotheby to raise money for those impacted by the deadly floods in the Emilia-Romagna region, which resulted in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix being cancelled in May.
Astonishingly, Leclerc’s helmet sold for what RM Sotheby’s believe to be a record for a racing helmet, a mammoth £262,700.
Leclerc’s Monaco GP helmet remarkably sold for more than three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna’s lid from 1990, which was bought in 2019 for €162,000.
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As well as the 25-year-old’s helmet going for a staggering amount, his Monaco GP race suit sold for £52,500.
That wasn’t all, as the Ferrari driver’s boots and gloves sold for £36,100 and £17,500 apiece.
Overall, Leclerc’s race suit, gloves, boots and helmet, sold for almost £370,000.
It will all go to the Emilia-Romagna region, who also received €1 million from both Ferrari and Formula 1.
Food banks in the region also received all the food that would’ve been served in the hospitality suites during the Emilia Romagna GP, with several shops having been flooded.
Several weeks of torrential rain caused widespread flooding and landslides, destroying several roads, houses and villages.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was actually seen helping one village recover from being flooded, with the Japanese driver having spent time sweeping and cleaning the village’s streets.
The Emilia Romagna GP will next be seen next season, as a result of their not being room in the current calendar for it to be rescheduled.
Formula 2 and Formula 3 both also announced recently that an additional round won’t be added to their calendar this season, despite both having lost a round due to the cancelled Grand Prix.
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Parts of the F2 and F3 paddock were incredibly knee-deep in flood water, further highlighting how cancelling the event was the right call by the sport.
Whilst the circuit itself appeared to be usable, it simply wasn’t appropriate for a race to be held, given the destruction which was being seen only a few miles away.
Spectator safety was also a huge issue, as several main roads had become unusable due to the flooding.