Driver helmet art A driver’s crash helmet design has for many years been a customised item that clearly identifies the driver and has always assisted instant recognition, particularly between team-mates driving the same cars. The helmet design has always been a personal choice and is often influenced by nationality. Ayrton Senna carried the colours of Brazil on his, Jenson Button and Nigel Mansell chose the British Union Jack and David Coulthard the Scottish Saltire. Jenson Button this year carries a tribute to his late father John Button. The much-admired Button senior was a major influence in Jenson’s life and his motorsport career and was affectionately known as “Papa Smurf”. Accordingly an image of “Papa Smurf” sits proudly on either side of Jenson’s helmet. Jackie Stewart’s white helmet featured the Stewart tartan while James Hunt, the subject of the recently released film “Rush”, carried the colours of his school Wellington College. World Champion father and son, Graham and Damon Hill both used the same helmet design. Damon, in respect of his late father, wore a replica of his father’s helmet that depicted the eight skulls of the London Rowing Club. Lewis Hamilton has always carried reference to Ayrton Senna’s helmet colours on his. In recent years some of the designs have tended to change from race-to-race and have become works of art. One of the strongest exponents of this art is reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel who is constantly changing his design. The individual choice for helmet design is not just the domain of F1. Motorcycle racers are well known for expressing themselves on their helmets and two of the best known are the late Barry Sheene, who carried “Donald Duck” on his and in recent years the “Professor” himself, Valentino Rossi. This year’s crop of helmets includes some interesting designs and we include them here for your perusal. All images are courtesy of Sutton Images. Check out our album of the 2014 driver helmets posted just a minute ago!
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 08:35:15 +0000
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