Kobayashi reveals one-off helmet for Brazil

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Kamui Kobayashi is wearing a special helmet for this weekend’s race.

The design created by Linkin Park is to raise money for international aid for victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami through Music for Relief.

Vitantonio Liuzzi is also using a very unusual special helmet design for this race. Here’s what his team had to say about it:

“It is the seventh special edition designed this season by Kaos Design, but this new helmet is different to the rest and will be different to anything seen before in Formula 1. With a completely black base, the characteristic lines which Tonio has on his standard helmet will be drawn in white with the sponsors and VL logo written in golden leaves.

“The name of the helmet is ‘K-Writeme’ and it is covered in a material similar to that of a blackboard meaning that Tonio can write and erase what he wants on the surface until he is happy with the design.”

Here are pictures from Thursday at Interlagos.

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Images © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo, Renault/LAT, Getty Images/Red Bull, Force India/Sutton, Sauber F1 Team, Motioncompany

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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38 comments on “Kobayashi reveals one-off helmet for Brazil”

  1. I didn’t know Kobayashi likes Linkin Park. We have one thing in common then. XD

    1. Same here :) Joe Hahn has done a good job with that helmet.

      1. Linkin Park rules!!!!

        But I don´t really like the helmet…

        1. yeah, its a bit hm …, not sure what to call it actually.

          But a nice idea to have him do a helmet design to be sold for charity non the less.

          1. The colours are cool, execution not so…

          2. I agree with @BasCB

            His regular helmet looks much better.

  2. That helmet is horrible.

  3. Checo Perez also revealed a new helmet for this weekend on his twitter account.

  4. I used to like Linkin Park when I was a kid, now Im grown up they are grown up too, different band, different taste, just like that transformer helmet tasteless… Awful. Hahn and Shinoda have Japanese roots so it makes sense to use their popularity as solidarity tool for Japan still I dont think that rasing money by auctioning helmets is a solution people should donate if they will no matter what cause or country involved there are countrys that must need much more help than Japan.

    1. I though Hahn was actually Korean descendant……

  5. Grosjean looks like a stick man. How on earth does his pencil neck hold up with the corning Gs ?

    1. He looks happy though…in fact everyone is smiling in these photos, (apart from Jan Cherouz, whoever he is).

      And that’s one of those uncanny Senna pics we see from time to time, I had to look twice!

  6. Lovin’ Kamui’s helmet, i think if i was a racing driver i would go for that kinda style. Like a purple or a pink, something that nobody else would go for.

    I think Lewis should go for a completely new helmet colour next season to indicate a fresh start. Would be great if he just turned up in Melbourne with a bright red helmet or something entirely different, but i guess for Lewis the yellow is like his signature and something that he’ll never change. Just a thought though.

  7. Love that design, Kamui-san.

    1. me too, love it!

  8. I like Kobayashi’s helmet! I think it looks great. Rubens Barrichello is also going for a one-off helmet! He has crossed his own design with Ayrton Senna’s, so the yelllow and green replaces Rubens’ red and blue. It looks good, but unfortunately I don’t have a link!

    1. Fortunately, I have. This helmet looks awesome!

      https://p.twimg.com/AfBCfOaCQAA3Fky.jpg:large

      1. Rubens you absolute god.

      2. I really hope this isn’t his last race. Rubens is one of the best characters F1 has ever seen, and it would be so sad to see him go. I’d rather see him announce his own retirement.

    2. It looks like Hamilton will be wearing a helmet inspired by Senna’s colors too:

      “…Hamilton will be wearing a special helmet this weekend, a blend of his colours and Ayrton Senna’s colours with the famous Senna S logo on the back. The helmet will be auctioned off for charity after the race…”

      — James Allen

      1. Would love to see a picture of that. Anyone got a link?

          1. It is Ruben’s helmet, not Lewis’s!

          2. Whoops! Wow, silly mistake by me, very sorry!

  9. Well that’s another thing Linkin’ Park should avoid doing anyway. Hope it raises plenty of money anyway!

  10. Speaking of Helmet’s, Should be a Helmet camera used this weekend ;)

    Will be the same as the one tested in the Monza GP2 race-
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohAeA0_ixz8

    1. Where have you heard this? Who will be wearing it?

  11. …meaning that Tonio can write and erase what he wants on the surface until he is happy with the design.

    “… and hopefully it will help him build a portfolio for his new career writing the lunchtime specials on blackboards outside pubs.”

    1. My thought exactly! Also, any deficit to Ricciaro will be said to be because of the extra drag from that surface+chalk, I think.

  12. I like the blue on Kobayashi’s helmet. It’s not a colour we see much in Formula 1 these days – the closest thing I can recall is the Mild Seven/Team Spirit Renaults from 2005/06 – which is a shame, because it’s a good colour. Barwa Addax used something very similar in their GP2 livery this year, and they looked fantastic. Hopefully Sauber work it into their 2012 livery given the Telmex connection.

    1. @Prisoner-Monkeys It looks closer to purple to me!

  13. Vettel and Charouz look so much like each other! Especially when you look at their photos one below another.

  14. I love that photo of Alonso. The big KEEP CLEAR sign and he’s strolling past like ‘screw you sign!’

    1. Haha! I think he looks pretty high, to be honest…

  15. LOL at Liuzzi. XD
    Awesome helmet!

  16. Tough times at HRT, they can’t even afford Liuzzi’s helmet design so he has to draw his own in crayon.

  17. Great helmet design from Liuzzi. I want one!

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