A driver’s helmet used to be his brand. Many, such as Ayrton Senna, James Hunt, Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda, are remembered for their distinctive and iconic helmet designs which stuck with them for their entire career.
That might be about to ring true once again as it’s understood that Formula 1 is considering a limit on the number of times a driver can change his helmet design per season to just one.
The rule is aimed at increasing a drivers visibility to fans. It’s not unusual for a driver to change helmets for certain races such as Monaco, but some – Sebastian Vettel being the biggest offender – change helmet far more regularly which makes them harder to spot.
Triple-champion Lauda supports the move: “If the constantly-new helmets are banned, I think that’s good,” he told Bild. “Even I can hardly tell the drivers apart.”
