Lewis Hamilton team-mate left laughing after F1 rival spends €120k on helmet

Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Austria, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Lewis Hamilton team-mate left laughing after F1 rival spends €120k on helmet

Leclerc was honoured at a gala this week

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Friday 3 April 2026 22:47

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This doesn't count under the cost cap, right?

Spending €120,000 on a helmet is a bold move, even though F1 lids aren't cheap at the best of times – somewhere in the 4-7k range every time a driver needs a new one.

However...what if that helmet had actually belonged to a driver, and you were buying it as a collector's item? And what if the proceeds were going to charity? And what if, say, you were worth about €350m?

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All of this is to say, Alpine F1 supremo Flavio Briatore bought Charles Leclerc's helmet at a charity auction in Monaco, and Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari team-mate seemed to find the whole thing incredibly funny.

Leclercs get unique wedding gift

The event on Thursday was the Goodwill Ambassadors Award Gala, where Leclerc was honoured with this year's Goodwill Ambassador Award.

The Ferrari driver was greeted at the gala by Prince Albert II, with whom he has crossed paths a number of times before (there is, it turns out, a pretty small Monegasque social scene).

The prince also had a surprise gift for Leclerc and his new bride Alexandra – a miniature Ferrari replica of the car from Stewart Little 2 that the new Mrs Leclerc had posted a picture of online to mark their wedding.

How the other half live, eh? Spending a decade's rent on a driver's helmet (when he does not, has not, and will not drive for your team), getting custom wedding gifts from princes, and going to galas? F1 hasn't forgotten its roots as a plaything for the insanely wealthy after all!

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F1 Ferrari Charles Leclerc Flavio Briatore