Vettel explains his multiple helmet changes

More than just a safety element, the helmet has become, over time, a true work of art, sometimes even sacred. The helmet has thus become the only way to recognize a driver when on track, aside from the number on their race car: for an entire generation—and even more—the color yellow is associated with the legendary Ayrton Senna, a color later adopted, by chance, by Lewis Hamilton, whose father, during his karting days, wanted to be able to identify him in the pack.

And yet, in recent years, drivers seem to change helmet livery as often as they change shirts. For example, each team change has been an opportunity for Fernando Alonso to review the color of his helmet, just like Nico Rosberg who, upon joining Mercedes, swapped blue for gray, before adopting a slightly more modern design in recent weeks.

But the master in the field is once again Sebastian Vettel, who has sported an innumerable number of different helmets throughout this season. The German double world champion, who is already known for his habit of giving cheeky nicknames to his cars, actually performs a very particular ritual. Indeed, as reported by Auto Motor und Sport, in the image of basketball legends whose clubs decide to retire the number as a tribute, Sebastian Vettel retires, in his private collection, each helmet design that saw him victorious. Thus, after his victory at the Indian Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver will have to find a new design sooner rather than later for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: « I don’t have any others. I need a new design urgently because I no longer wear them after a win. »

No one can then doubt that, just like the German’s rivals, Vettel’s helmet designer might be eager for the season to end.