THE NOMINEES
1 Mario Andretti
The predominantly silver crash helmet had been a feature of Mario Andretti’s early career even before he switched from an open-faced helmet to a full-face design in the late 1960s. The idea for the chevron down the centre came from the logo of a sponsor in 1972, and Andretti Sr tweaked the colours and sported it thereon.
2 Stefan Bellof
Brilliant German star Stefan Bellof had served his apprenticeship in his domestic Formula Ford and F3 championships. While his driving did the talking, his plain white crash helmet design meant he didn’t stand out from the crowd in that department. It wasn’t until he joined the Maurer F2 team in 1982 that he adopted the patriotic team’s version of the German flag with a black background and red and yellow strips.
3 David Coulthard
The Scottish are a proud nation and the saltire symbol has become synonymous with their racing exploits. David Coulthard’s bold design – which he used from his earliest days in karting and Formula Ford – set the trend. BTCC champ John Cleland claims to have been the first to incorporate the St Andrew’s cross, Coulthard’s career in F1 brought it to a wider audience.
4 Carlos Pace
It wasn’t until late on 1971 that Brazilian Carlos Pace adopted the crash helmet colours for which he would become famous. His previous lid had been switched between a white version to one which had red on the sides but then he swapped over to the yellow arrow on the dark blue background.
5 Lewis Hamilton
It is a story that is common to other young racing drivers, but the inspiration for seven-time F1 World champion Lewis Hamilton’s bright yellow crash helmet came from dad Anthony. Hamilton Sr was Lewis’s karting mechanic and wanted to be able to easily identify his driver when he was battling a pack on the kart tracks
6 Damon and Graham Hill
In the early 1950s, Graham Hill sated his competitive instincts on the waters before he turned to petrol power and he was very used to sporting the colours of the London Rowing Club.
Son Damon added to his dad’s two World championships with another in 1996.
7 Nigel Mansell
When he moved into F3 in late 1970s, the deal could not have been more patriotic. The March team was sponsored by Unipart with its bold colour scheme adapted from the Union flag. Recruit Mansell adopted the basis of that and it stuck with him all the way through his career – which included the Formula 1 World title in 1992 and the Indycar crown in 1993.
8 Nelson Piquet
The three red teardrops on the white background are the colours that Nelson Piquet Souto Maior used from the very start of his karting career. The theory is that the teardrops were originally designed to represent tennis, as the racquet sport was one that he also used to love.
9 Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna’s crash helmet design became famous and it was the one his rival drivers said they feared seeing in their rear-view mirrors.
The Brazilian wanted to stand out among the karting ranks and that is why he chose the original colour scheme, which was later slightly modified.
10 Hans Stuck
When Hans Stuck decided to switch to a full-race crash helmet in 1971, he felt the plain colours of the design were far from appealing.
But rather than fork out on a new paint job, one of the German’s friends came up with a quick and easy solution: a shower of adhesive stars that could be stuck onto the helmet.