341 replies to this topic

[FerrariV12]

I thought I'd see how many I could pick out without cheating, the answer was three....

 

 

I got every one but only because they're arranged in order (if the 1996-2013 numbering system was used). On their own and without team sponsors on them (which leaves it 50/50) would be a bit harder.

 

EDIT: Trying to be honest with myself about which ones I would have got in isolation: Hamilton, Rosberg, Alonso, Raikkonen, Button, Massa.

Edited by FerrariV12, 19 February 2015 - 19:18.

[chipmcdonald]

Hats off to Vettel for trying some novel things.  No kudos to him for not sticking with any of them.  I also don't like that Hamilton has diluted the original Senna-inspired look of his helmet to a more busy, less iconic look.

 

 

The problem is that they all use the same overly busy mid-90's Troy Lee stripe-based style.  Just because a driver is good enough to be in F1 doesn't mean he also has a graphic design sense.  Save Nico, they all look like variations on each other.  I like that Massa has kept with the fluorescent green, and Perez has his "Mexican" fluorescent combination, but sometimes it veers into Massa's look... but Jenson should have kept the pink - which was iconic for him.  Raikkonen had the flat black circle on top, he should have stuck with that. 

 

 

 Vettel's helmets have been literally brilliant, although it's dumb he hasn't picked one and stuck with it.  If he'd been driving with that bronze helmet for a whole season, that would have been iconic.  Or the holographic one. 

 

Graham Hill.  JAMES HUNT.  Jackie Stewart.  JODY Scheckter.  Coulthard.  Schumacher.  Each one of them has a very clear cut, iconic helmet associate with them.  It's baffling why the drivers today don't apparently care about that.

 

The busy motocross thing needs to go.

 

 

[anneomoly]

I thought I'd see how many I could pick out without cheating, the answer was three....

 

 

Honestly? Three have "nico" "JB" and "kvyat" on the side and they're the easiest.. Raikkonen has a 7 (used the sponser as a cheat though). One of the Caterham drivers is apparently number 9 (Airbus clue!). Brazilian green and yellow plus martini stripes must be Massa? Which means the other Martini stripes is Bottas (I think I could get Bottas without Massa's there, on the basis that Massa's green offensively clashes against the Williams.  /fashion police). There are others I can get from context even if they weren't all in order but only those by themselves I think.

 

If you're trying to force easy recognition, you also need to force team mates to have opposing colours, because it doesn't matter if any Red Bull sponsored drivers keep their helmets for their entire careers, they are all generally blue. I'm not sure that four bold blue patterns painted with the Windows Paint blockiness that some of you desire would ever be distinguishable to me. I wonder if its a generation thing? Because newer designs seem to be getting a rough time and actually? I think they look better. I like Ricciardo's honey badger, and Jenson's Papa Smurf and Nico's sweeping roman numerals; and while I really really hated Vettel's sparkly star signs Singapore helmet a few years ago, at least we all now know that a part of his soul is a 12 year old girl

[bub]

Hats off to Vettel for trying some novel things.  No kudos to him for not sticking with any of them.  I also don't like that Hamilton has diluted the original Senna-inspired look of his helmet to a more busy, less iconic look.

 

 

The problem is that they all use the same overly busy mid-90's Troy Lee stripe-based style.  Just because a driver is good enough to be in F1 doesn't mean he also has a graphic design sense.  Save Nico, they all look like variations on each other.  I like that Massa has kept with the fluorescent green, and Perez has his "Mexican" fluorescent combination, but sometimes it veers into Massa's look... but Jenson should have kept the pink - which was iconic for him.  Raikkonen had the flat black circle on top, he should have stuck with that. 

 

 

 Vettel's helmets have been literally brilliant, although it's dumb he hasn't picked one and stuck with it.  If he'd been driving with that bronze helmet for a whole season, that would have been iconic.  Or the holographic one. 

 

Graham Hill.  JAMES HUNT.  Jackie Stewart.  JODY Scheckter.  Coulthard.  Schumacher.  Each one of them has a very clear cut, iconic helmet associate with them.  It's baffling why the drivers today don't apparently care about that.

 

The busy motocross thing needs to go.

 

I agree with some of this but not others.

 

I agree that most of the designs these days don't look particularly good and all look kind of the same. I also agree that Button should have suck with the pink.

 

i don't find it baffling that the drivers seemingly don't care about having an 'iconic' helmet design though, it's really not important and if I was a racing driver I don't think I would care too much about my helmet design (that Kimi "it protects my head" quote springs to mind). I personally prefer Hamilton's white one over his yellow one and I actually like the fact that Vettel changed his helmet so often.

[BobbyRicky]

Hats off to Vettel for trying some novel things.  No kudos to him for not sticking with any of them.  I also don't like that Hamilton has diluted the original Senna-inspired look of his helmet to a more busy, less iconic look.

 

 

The problem is that they all use the same overly busy mid-90's Troy Lee stripe-based style.  Just because a driver is good enough to be in F1 doesn't mean he also has a graphic design sense.  Save Nico, they all look like variations on each other.  I like that Massa has kept with the fluorescent green, and Perez has his "Mexican" fluorescent combination, but sometimes it veers into Massa's look... but Jenson should have kept the pink - which was iconic for him.  Raikkonen had the flat black circle on top, he should have stuck with that. 

 

 

 Vettel's helmets have been literally brilliant, although it's dumb he hasn't picked one and stuck with it.  If he'd been driving with that bronze helmet for a whole season, that would have been iconic.  Or the holographic one. 

 

Graham Hill.  JAMES HUNT.  Jackie Stewart.  JODY Scheckter.  Coulthard.  Schumacher.  Each one of them has a very clear cut, iconic helmet associate with them.  It's baffling why the drivers today don't apparently care about that.

 

The busy motocross thing needs to go.

 

I think Vettel is iconic enough, considering he is a 4xWDC.

[anneomoly]

I think Vettel is iconic enough, considering he is a 4xWDC.

 

Have you learned nothing? The aura of champion flows from the helmet to the driver, not the other way round. That's why Senna is so revered. The magnificence of his helmet flowed into his car, like a go faster stripe.

[ensign14]

Honestly? Three have "nico" "JB" and "kvyat" on the side and they're the easiest.. Raikkonen has a 7 (used the sponser as a cheat though). One of the Caterham drivers is apparently number 9 (Airbus clue!). Brazilian green and yellow plus martini stripes must be Massa? Which means the other Martini stripes is Bottas (I think I could get Bottas without Massa's there, on the basis that Massa's green offensively clashes against the Williams.  /fashion police). There are others I can get from context even if they weren't all in order but only those by themselves I think.

 

Imagine describing what they look like to someone who is short-sighted.  There's no "yellow with a green and blue stripe" sort of affair.

 

Try to describe Sutil's compared to Bianchi's.  Kimi's compared to Magnussen's.  Imagine Grosjean goes past you at 200mph.  How do you know it's not Maldonado?  Are you going to see that swatch of yellow there? 

 

Compared to this...

 

[ensign14]

...and a few years later this...

 

[TecnoRacing]

Would be nice is there was a complete moratorium on (or at least a vast reduction in usable area allowed for) helmet adverstising (aside from maybe the visor banner for personal sponsors etc.)

[Rasputin]

With soon only a dozen cars or so, it should be easy enough for the FIA to standardized the color for each driver, the rainbow plus white, black, gold and silver?

 

Perhaps pink for Rosberg.

[DarthWillie]

Now do the exercise the other way around. Take a clean sheet of paper and draw the helmet designs of Vettel, Alonso, Kimi...

And then try to do the same with, say, Senna, Lauda, Scheckter, Amon. Even those nearer the back like Merzario, Boesel, Caffi, Forini, Trimmer...

Totally agree those helmets were easier and more recognizable, but that won't be changed with this ruling. Helmets stay messy even (or maybe certainly) if they can't change them

[HP]

Vettel apparently was spotted in a paint shop asking for chameleon paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

j/k

[SenorSjon]

Vettel apparently was spotted in a paint shop asking for chameleon paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

j/k

 

 

Why not a flexible screen and have a TV on your head. You can still switch to anything, even during the race.

[chipmcdonald]

I think Vettel is iconic enough, considering he is a 4xWDC.

 

 

Have you learned nothing? The aura of champion flows from the helmet to the driver, not the other way round. That's why Senna is so revered. The magnificence of his helmet flowed into his car, like a go faster stripe.

 

 

 Let me explain.  The subject of the thread is "helmets".   Vettel does not have a helmet design that is associated with him.  Therefore, there is not an iconic helmet for Vettel.   Understand?

[anneomoly]

Imagine describing what they look like to someone who is short-sighted.  There's no "yellow with a green and blue stripe" sort of affair.

 

Try to describe Sutil's compared to Bianchi's.  Kimi's compared to Magnussen's.  Imagine Grosjean goes past you at 200mph.  How do you know it's not Maldonado?  Are you going to see that swatch of yellow there? 

 

Compared to this...

 

 

Given that the majority of people watching a GP are watching on TV, does it not make sense to play more to the people watching through the cameras rather than in person?

[Lemans]

 Let me explain.  The subject of the thread is "helmets".   Vettel does not have a helmet design that is associated with him.  Therefore, there is not an iconic helmet for Vettel.   Understand?

 

 

It's a little sad that it even needs to be said.

[superden]

Modern/recent helmet 'designs' all look like a drunks vomit spatter, so whether a driver has 1 design or 30 over the course of a season is irrelevant. The only ones I can recall from 2014 are Button's 'JB' and Rosberg's 'Nico' and even then, I can't remember the rest of the pattern. As for the others, they are all instantly forgettable.

[Burai]

Hats off to Vettel for trying some novel things.  No kudos to him for not sticking with any of them.  I also don't like that Hamilton has diluted the original Senna-inspired look of his helmet to a more busy, less iconic look.

 

 

The problem is that they all use the same overly busy mid-90's Troy Lee stripe-based style.  Just because a driver is good enough to be in F1 doesn't mean he also has a graphic design sense.  Save Nico, they all look like variations on each other.  I like that Massa has kept with the fluorescent green, and Perez has his "Mexican" fluorescent combination, but sometimes it veers into Massa's look... but Jenson should have kept the pink - which was iconic for him.  Raikkonen had the flat black circle on top, he should have stuck with that. 

 

 

 Vettel's helmets have been literally brilliant, although it's dumb he hasn't picked one and stuck with it.  If he'd been driving with that bronze helmet for a whole season, that would have been iconic.  Or the holographic one. 

 

Graham Hill.  JAMES HUNT.  Jackie Stewart.  JODY Scheckter.  Coulthard.  Schumacher.  Each one of them has a very clear cut, iconic helmet associate with them.  It's baffling why the drivers today don't apparently care about that.

 

The busy motocross thing needs to go.

 

Hang on a second, why does it need to go?

 

Most of these posts just smack of bitter old men once again pining for how it was back in the good old days when they were watching as kids. Look at that nonsense above berating the drivers for not having helmets like in the 1970s... Jesus, what next? Are we expecting Ferrari's teamwear this season to be all flares and platforms whilst we're at it?

 

You're basically asking for a bunch of young guys, some of them not even out of their teens, to conform to design sensibilities of 20, 30 and even 40 years ago, most of which were simple because there was only so much you could do with stickers and a spray can back then.

 

Your heroes of the past didn't come up with their designs to be "iconic". They came up with their designs because that's what they wanted. Same as the drivers of today.

 

I dislike the current design trend as much as anyone else but then I also don't think I should be telling a bunch of affluent 20 year olds how to dress. Just like when my favourite music moved from Radio 1 to Radio 2, perhaps it's time to accept that I just got old.

[sopa]

However, thinking about it, I do think one issue is that the helmet design style is basically the same or at least similar with all drivers. I don't know why, but some creativity is missing. Why not have a mix of different things - flashy helmets, simple helmets, etc.

 

I know sponsors also have their demands and wishes, but I do suspect some of them may have missed a point in how to make their driver helmet truly memorable. Because that's what sponsors want - that they get attention and are memorable. But at the moment they do not create the effect that they stand out in any way.

[LORDBYRON]

So if Petronas wanted to increase their stake in Mercedes again and make the drivers have green visors again they couldn't and with that Mercedes would lose out on the extra money?

 

 

They can they simply pay for both drivers helmets at the start of the season as "driver sponsorship''

[LORDBYRON]

I wonder what would happen if a driver argued that he changed a helmet design due to safety reasons.

 

Or reliability reasons.

Nonsense you seem to forget that the new one is the same as the old one 

 

its the design that is banned not helmet changes 

[Gilles4Ever]

"@tgruener: #F1 Vettel about the ban on helmet design changes: "If the penalty is just a little fine for charity I'm happy to keep changing my helmets.""

[Ducks]

If it was a fine, say $5000 Im certain it wouldn't stop any of these millionaires from changing their designs as and when they want.

[Dan333SP]

Not sure if this has been mentioned but HRT/Marussia/Caterham all cited multiple helmet designs as the biggest factor in their financial dilemmas that forced them out of the sport. IIRC, Caterham spent something like 93 million dollars on Kobayashi's helmets in a single season. I applaud this bold cost cutting measure, even if it is too late to save the minnows. Surely this news will buoy struggling teams like Sauber.

[loki]

 

Graham Hill.  JAMES HUNT.  Jackie Stewart.  JODY Scheckter.  Coulthard.  Schumacher.  Each one of them has a very clear cut, iconic helmet associate with them.  It's baffling why the drivers today don't apparently care about that.

Why is it important to have a helmet paint scheme associated with a driver?  Changing schemes is pretty common in all of motorsport.  F1 drivers were some of the last to start doing it and it's usually the younger drivers.  For some it's more than a fashion statement, it's a marketing application where there is money exchanged when the paint scheme is changed.

 

I think in protest everyone should show up with a white helmet with whatever sponsorship is required. It's posts such as this and rules such as this that exemplify how far out of touch with whatever potential young fan base many fans and those that run the sanction are.

[midgrid]

...and a few years later this...

 

I don't know - I'm struggling to tell the difference between Clay Regazzoni and Loris Kessel.

[anneomoly]

And the person the rule change was aimed at is going to change his helmet if he wants to anyway, if it's just a financial penalty.

 

So basically it's achieved nothing, then.

[ensign14]

I don't know - I'm struggling to tell the difference between Clay Regazzoni and Loris Kessel.

 

You'd notice the difference from the front.  Regga's was a solid red Mohican stripe over the crown, Kessel's bifurcated like Tom Walkinshaw's. 

 

 

The other way to tell them apart was the speed they were doing. 

 

Guy Tunmer basically nicked Regga's design though.  About the only difference was the lack of a Swiss cross.

 

 

To be fair, they're not very well painted.  Plus chappie has overlooked Lunger's more regular blue design (although he changed seemingly with the moon's phase as well).

[pdac]

If it was a fine, say $5000 Im certain it wouldn't stop any of these millionaires from changing their designs as and when they want.

 

Yep, stupidity from the governing body once again. Either don't have the rule or enforce it properly. If a car fails scrutineering then it can't be raced. So if they want to impose helmet rules it should be the same.

[Shambolic]

 

Just like when my favourite music moved from Radio 1 to Radio 2, perhaps it's time to accept that I just got old.

 

Nah, that's when it's time to just accept the media machine will always, and has always (ok, not always, but for many decades) pumped out mass produced crap that is designed to appeal to lowest common denominator eardrums.

[HoldenRT]

I used to pay more attention to helmets but these days usually pay more attention to live timing and don't even notice the helmets.  Honestly.. I couldn't even tell you the helmets Seb has worn, the only time I've noticed is when the commentators mention it.

 

I find it pretty funny.  It's not a big deal either way.  They are safety devices, not fashion devices.

[maximilian]

 

 

These helmet illustrations are from a book about the 1975 F1 season I used to have as a kid... beautifully illustrated.  I don't know what happened to it or who authored it - does anybody have that information for me by any chance?  I would love to get my hands back on another copy.

Edited by maximilian, 22 February 2015 - 03:27.

[ardbeg]

These helmet illustrations are from a book about the 1975 F1 season I used to have as a kid... beautifully illustrated.  I don't know what happened to it or who authored it - does anybody have that information for me by any chance?  I would love to get my hands back on another copy.

Ask in the Nostalgia forum, there are plenty of experts there.

[WOT]

Can't believe the FIA can be so moronic as to buy into helmet paint design. Who cares!! If a driver wants to be remembered by his helmet design, then he will keep the same design throughout his career, if he doesn't care about that sentiment, then so be it - goodonya Seb.

 

If the FIA want to do something about driver recognition, why don't they bight that advertising bullet and bring back LARGE  car number roundels, so the visually impaired can actually see who's car it is.

[RA2]

These were supposedly Vettel's next helmets................

 

No wonder FIA got a fright

 

 

 

Edited by RA2, 22 February 2015 - 06:20.

[MikeV1987]

http://www.autosport...t.php/id/117767

 

Seb, you rebel. 

[Sheepmachine]

There is a poster free with this months f1 racing that shows of all past champions helmets. It's rather good at showing how much the helmets have changed.

[RosannaG]

http://www.autosport...t.php/id/117767

 

Seb, you rebel. 

 

[Andy35]

I think drivers should always stick to the same design, if it was good enough in the past it is good enough now

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good old Nigel, same cap.

 

I'm looking forward to drivers getting rid of their helmets for this season and getting caps. And some goggles so their faces are all covered in grime.

 

How good would that be?  Make them look like they have been in a race rather then just popping out to Waitrose to buy some milk that they can pour over themselves like Danica in some slow motion Go Daddy  glug glug glug commercial ?

 

Nigel's cap or Stirlings face

 

 

 

In summary who cares what the helmet looks like.

 

It is the racer under that that matters.

 

Andy

[sopa]

Imagine if they made it mandatory for the driver to have the same haircut for the whole season. So that the audience could identify the drivers better, when they are on the podium.

[OvDrone]

I hate fact that the FIA makes me side with Vettel more and more.

[tifosiMac]

Vettel will just have to find a helmet identity and stick to it.

 

I am not against special races where they have a special edition helmet but changing it every race is just dull I think. I would still rather see an iconic design on a driver who has a legacy worth remembering.