2015 F1 drivers helmets in pictures

2015 F1 season preview

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Helmet design has been a hot topic during the off-season following the FIA’s move to ban drivers from changing their graphics from race to race.

The rule means an end to drivers using special one-off helmet designs whenever they choose.

Once drivers have used the designs below for the first race of the season they will have to keep them “substantially the same” until the end of the year.

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton

Nico Rosberg

Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo

Daniil Kvyat

Williams

Felipe Massa

Valtteri Bottas

Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel

Kimi Raikkonen

McLaren

Fernando Alonso

NB. Kevin Magnussen will substitute for Fernando Alonso at the first race.

Jenson Button

Force India

Nico Hulkenberg

Sergio Perez

Toro Rosso

Max Verstappen

Carlos Sainz Jnr

Lotus

Romain Grosjean

Pastor Maldonado

Sauber

Marcus Ericsson

Felipe Nasr

NB. The Manor drivers’ helmets will be added once their line-up has been announced.

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Author information

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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100 comments on “2015 F1 drivers helmets in pictures”

  1. Liam McShane (@)
    9th March 2015, 12:33

    They’re all pretty awful if you ask me with exception to Vettel’s and Kimi’s.

    1. Agreed. Garish is the operative word.

    2. @motor_mad, I disagree, I actually like most of them, with the exception of those that have Red Bull sponsorship on their helmets. Having that Red Bull logo plastered all over the helmet makes it impossible to have a nice design, although Sainz’s helmet comes closest in my opinion.

      Also, I have to say that out of all the 50+ helmets that Vettel has worn over the years, his current one is one of my favourites.

    3. I like both sauber helmets, bottas’, hulk’s and vettel’s helmets all because they are fairly simple clean designs, the rest are far too busy.

    4. I would have to say they’re all a bit off with the exception of Lewis, Nico, kvyat and raikkonen.

  2. Kyvat’s helmet reminds me of Webber’s, just without the yellow top.

    I think of all teams, Sauber have the nicest actually, two simple and uncluttered designs.

    1. I totally agree about Sauber. I also like Vettel’s. It’s a pitty he will change it next year…

    2. Paul Findsen (@)
      9th March 2015, 13:33

      Agreed about Sauber. Seb’s helmet is also pretty nice, though I do like Valterri’s as well.

    3. I think that apart from the Sauber guys, I like the effort from Hulk, Rosberg and Vettel as well as Bottas helmet design.

      Indeed, all of those are the simpler designs (Hulks is getting more complicated, but the orange areas are consistent over years now).

    4. First thing I thought of with Kvyat’s helmet is that it reminded me of Johnnie Herbert’s helmet design.

  3. Vettel’s is the best. Others just too messy

    1. agreed, yet he’s the one rebel who wants to change it as much as he can… go figure

    2. Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
      9th March 2015, 13:28

      I too think Vettel’s lid looks simple and iconic. Easily the best of the bunch. Ironically, its the most likely to change despite the new rule

    3. @graywizzard at last a good one by him. That would be recognisable in the future if he sticks to it… if he decides to change it again in 10 minutes time, then it’d be quite a waste of such a classy design

      1. GB (@bgp001ruled)
        9th March 2015, 19:47

        totally agree

    4. agoodall (@)
      9th March 2015, 16:44

      I guess I’m in the minority. When I came down the list to Vettel’s I thought, “Huh. That’s… boring.” I preferred Kimi’s, though I think my favourite is Massa’s.

      I hate the Red Bull and Toro Rosso helmets. You can tell it’s all about advertising the drink.

      1. Massa’s helmet is also my favourite, I have always loved his colours, and yeah the Toro Rosso/Red Bulls are particularly bad.

  4. When Seb. Vettel tested on the F2012 on his “first day at Ferrari” last year, I knew that helmet design was beautiful.

    But I never imagined it would be Seb’s official helmet design for 2015. But of course Seb said that if the fine for changing helmet is little he would do it.

  5. Vettel, Nasr, Eriksson, and Buttons helmets all look amazing!

    1. I also like Nico’s, but apparently I can’t edit my comment……(hint hint, a feature I would like, Keith)

      1. Agree, though I think Button’s is a bit too much sideways. I don’t see why Vettel would want to change his helmet now, the best I’ve seen in years! And Nico’s is pretty good too, love the symbols…

        And honestly… “Still I rise”??? Seriously?? Yes, Hamilton, your “sassiness” upsets me a great deal.

        1. He’s just sponsored by Allinson now

          1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
            9th March 2015, 15:18

            @mazdachris maybe by Viagra?

          2. OmarR-Pepper (@)
            9th March 2015, 15:19

            @mazdachris or maybe by that blue pill for old men? Bernie would approve that wink to his favorite target public.

          3. @omarr-pepper well yeah, that was my first thought, but I thought I’d try to keep it family friendly :)

          4. Would go well with H.A.M. Oh dear this is terrible, apologies…

          5. Sorry, went too far… Please delete!

        2. @flig I find it hard to disagree about anything you wrote

        3. It’s supposed to be referencing a poem by Maya Angelou called Still I Rise

        4. @flig, what’s wrong with personal touches on a helmet? You clearly don’t know what he is referencing. Can we decide already?? do we want personality or corporatism to rule all? Just about all of these helmets are blank advert canvases. Its nice to see personal touches on something that is suppose to be unique for each driver. The Reb Bull and Vettels helmet are the worst. I see why Vettel is so upset. He likes to put personal touches on his helmets but the new law leaves him stuck with a “corporate” helmet all year long. I can appreciate a nice simple, uncluttered design like the Williams and Sauber drivers. Vettel is too plain no design. Just sponsors and his Nationality. Rosberg’s is nice but too conservative and plain. But it fits Rosberg…so in a way it is “personal.” I like helmets that look like the driver sat down with the designer and had some input even if the end product is IMO ugly. Case in point, Hamilton’s helmet. His McLaren helmets were so nice. Can’t say the same for the Mercedes helmets.

          1. @sudd, What do you mean I don’t know what he’s referencing? I even quoted the horrible poem @polo mentioned! Seems like you don’t know it… And personal touches are important because they tell something about the driver. In this case, it tells me Hamilton has a dreadful taste in poetry.

    2. Nobody likes Grosjean? it’s my favorite

  6. Alonso and Button’s sponsorship bands are worringly empty….

  7. Seb got it right.

  8. Lorenzo Lucidi
    9th March 2015, 12:44

    1) Vettel
    2) Sauber Duo – The simple the better. Old style!
    3) Bottas

    Some iconic helmets this season, but the majority stills a bloddy mess.

    1. For me:

      1) Vettel
      2) Sauber Duo
      3) Kvyat

      1. Oh I forgot … honorable mention for Rosberg!

  9. Kimi’s and Seb’s looked good, but I kinda thought that the Scuderia logo messed those beautiful helmets. Why don’t they keep the simplified prancing horse instead?

    Ericsson’s looked cool and vintage, I like that one too.

    1. Todd (@braketurnaccelerate)
      9th March 2015, 13:34

      Marlboro…

        1. @keithcollantine That’s laughable. LOL I bet they only do this to rile you up. Where I live there’s a flour company that looks just like the marlboro pack I hope EU won’t catch them, no more cakes for me.

  10. I think it was Ted in one of his shows, where he was explaining that Redbulll might do away with the little wing at the back of the helmets. Surprised to see them on both the Dan’s helmets..

  11. So although there are rules to say that the drivers must use the same design all season, apparently there was nothing mentioned about ensuring that teammates don’t have virtually identical helmets so that they’re easily identifiable in the car.

    Good luck working out which Toro Rosso or Lotus is which…

  12. 1) Rosberg
    2) Sauber duo
    3) Vettel

    And i’m not even a fan of them.

  13. You forgot Giedo’s :-)

  14. Not Much difference between any of the Red Bull Sponsored Drivers esp. the Torro Rosso Drivers, guessing they all shop at the same shop…!

    1. Yeah I agree. Its a bit annoying that the bull logo takes up so much space. They have been doing that for a long time though.

      1. petebaldwin (@)
        9th March 2015, 13:53

        I suppose the Red Bull drivers (from an early age) are pretty much told what their helmet must look like. They can add the odd bit of colour on it but it’s going to end up looking like half the field’s do now.

        I suppose that’s why Vettel has never really settled on a design that is his own until now when the Red Bull logos are gone.

        1. That’s more or less what Vettel mentioned yeah @petebaldwin, that before it was all just variation on the Red Bull theme so he was trying to play around with it a bit. This one is his design where he want to identify with.

    2. I think they all four just happen to have the same favourite drink?

  15. Really love the Williams and Ferrari helmets… And also the “old design” Sauber.
    Ohh, and Checo’s one is also nice!

    Toro Rosso will be pretty difficult to see the difference at 300km/h…

  16. Man… Vettel helmet’s is very beautiful.

  17. Rosberg, Bottas, Vettel, Sauber Duo and Hulkenburgs are all nice and quite iconic

    Alonso, Button, Massa and Raikonnens are passable

    The Red Bull Four are all generic and horrible

    Perez, Maldonado, Grosjean and Hamiltons are just too messy for me, they either have too many colours or the actual design is just sloppy.

  18. Love the simple designs. Bottas, Ericsson, Nasr, Vettel. Very nice.

    Lots of forgettable helmets unfortunately. Overcomplicated and forgettable.

  19. My favourites: Vettel, Raikkonen and Perez (I always like his Mexican-themed designs).

  20. Although very beautiful, it seems like the Sauber ones are twisted, as if Ericsson was the guy who brought Banco do Brasil sponsorship in (from a brazilian stand point).

    About Hamilton, it would be so much nicer if he would use the (why not?) iconic desing he got when he started in F1, back in 2007.

    1. Those colours on Ericsson are simply using those of the Swedish flag Allan Wiese, it’s just that both drivers brought yellow/blue to the team; Maybe that’s the real reason Sauber don’t want van de Garde, orange would clash horribly :p

    2. I agree about Hamilton going back to his 2007-2010 helmet, that was so simple yet awesome. Seems like the recipe for a good helmet is to make it simple – you’re not really going to be able to notice many small details on a helmet during a race.

  21. Well, well, it seems Mr Collantine has stumbled on a very good reason for the helmet designs being fixed. It’s actually worth doing a post about them now… ;)

  22. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    9th March 2015, 14:14

    Can anybody provide a link of the Ferrari helmets from the top?

  23. Best:
    Vettel, Raikonnen, Massa, Bottas
    Worst:
    Any Red Bull sponsored driver (they are just RB billboards with no individual style; and I like both teams)
    Hamilton (“Still I rise”…really?)

    Ericsson’s and Rosberg’s are good as well.

  24. I quite like the helmets of the Mercedes, the McLaren, the Ferrari, and the Sauber duo. Red Bull and Toro Rosso are as bland as you’d usually expect.

  25. Mark McDonald
    9th March 2015, 15:15

    I like Vettel’s new helmet as well as Bottas’. The rest look a mess and for that reason should be banned by the FIA.

  26. bluepoolshark
    9th March 2015, 15:35

    Rosberg and Button are ok, rest are just awful. Shame these guys don’t take a leaf out of the motorcycle racer school of helmet design!

  27. In my opinion, they’re all rubbish apart from the Ferrari pair (especially Vettel) and Rosberg. I personally think that Lewis’s helmet is disgusting, and he needs to revert back to his classic yellow helmet, or have a complete redesign ASAP. I would have liked Kvyat’s helmet if it didn’t have that Red Bull crap all over it, but it’s not his fault.

    1. Bottas’s helmet is pretty good too. The rest are just too complicated/messy, and too many colours involved. Simplicity of a helmet design is what makes a helmet iconic, beautiful and remembered for a long time like Senna’s, Cevert’s, Button’s old helmet and many other classics.

      1. Agree with you regarding Button’s old design – for me that was up there with the very best designs of all time, and I especially loved the simplified version that he used in late 2008/pre-season 2009 with block, neon colours and a matte finish. So classy.

        His current design gets messier and messier – this one is basically a red version of the helmet he wore in Japan last year, which was fine as a standalone, but it’s much too busy with the Japanese text and dragon motifs to be his standard design IMO, and I don’t like the colour change to red for the sake of it.

        I really wish he’d revert back to those simple, classic designs – none of the helmets he’s had since Uffe Designs took over are a patch on what he used to wear IMO.

  28. I think its obvious that Redbull decides where the logos should be which makes the design options very limited. Too bad cause it will be hard to keep them apart, specially from Toro Rosso

  29. I’ve always liked Maldonado’s and Massa’s.

    Love Vettel’s.

    Toro Rosso = boring

  30. Lorenzo Lucidi
    9th March 2015, 16:28

    Don’t get the pepole saying that Hamilton’s current helmet is great.

    Iconic yellow one was light-years better imho.

    1. I completely agree. His white one is just disgusting.

  31. So no James Hunt helmet for Kimi at Monaco?

  32. I wish Lewis would go back to the yellow helmet. This white one is a mess.

  33. I like Perez, good from afar and close but perhaps more importantly it doesn’t remind me of any other past designs ever featured in F1.

  34. The helmets aren’t so bad to me, i like most of them.

    So Lewis is ditching his trademark yellow (from his idol Senna)? Odd.

    Very simple and old-school designs from both Sauber boys. Surely their small budget isn’t affecting this too ? LOL

    The Red Bull ones are ghastly. They speak more of the brand itself than its drivers.

    McLaren duo seem to be missing a brand in the strip above the visor.

    Vettel’s is kind of cool. I’m not a fan of Nico’s but his helmet is pretty cool looking. Maybe all drivers should have their name on their helmet, similar to Nico. I like it for some reason.

    After the Red Bull helmets, Valteri’s and Pastor’s are probably the worst IMO.

  35. Nasr is the new Lauda

    1. Agree totally.

  36. GB (@bgp001ruled)
    9th March 2015, 19:37

    so many things to comment!!!!
    imho the best are the ones from the merc and ferrari drivers!!!! my fav definitely vettel (and i am no ferrari fan… at all!!!).
    hamiltons is a much more german helmet than hulkenbergs (colorwise)!!!
    some that i think are pretty boring or messy! alonsos is horrible; maldonados is a mess!
    and ericsson: is he wearing his car on his head??? why put your helmet in the colors of the livery of your car??? the helmet should be something personal, not a copy of your car!!!!

    1. GB (@bgp001ruled)
      9th March 2015, 19:39

      “there are some that i think are pretty boring..” is what i wanted to write!

  37. I really like Massa’s helmet, it is so distinctive and he has barely changed it over the years so he is very easy to spot from his helmet.

    Doesn’t bother me at all that they have to keep the same helmet design.

  38. GB (@bgp001ruled)
    9th March 2015, 19:58

    nico wrote at the back “wm2015”!!!!! that means “world champion 2015” (weltmeister)!!!!! man, i dont see that happening, but ill cross the fingers for him…

  39. Anybody know what that symbol on the front of Nico’s helmet is called or if it symbolises anything in particular?

    1. It looks celtic. There’s a video from last year where he talks about his helmet, but he just says that it’s something personal, something he likes: http://youtu.be/283_JhQChRQ

  40. Vettel wins the prize for me.
    Honorable mentions to Massa & Kimi R.
    Grosean’s looks cool with his number on the side too…

  41. Vettel, Button and Massa are my favourite designs this year.

  42. ColdFly F1 (@)
    9th March 2015, 20:30

    Agree with most that Vettel’s looks best

    But most importantly, are they distinctive when seen from top-front. Most are except for the Toro Rosso ones (except probably from straight on top).

  43. Buttons helmet suggests to me that McLaren are going to have a red and white livery

  44. Everybody probably know it already.
    But I love that fact Button’s helmet say “Jey-B” in Japanese.

  45. Loving JB’s new helmet, reminds me of the Suzuka special editions in past seasons. Alway love Kimi’s design, but this is the best I’ve seen of his at Ferrari and Vettel’s new helmet is class too!!

  46. I’m not sure why Max Verstappen has secretly added two Mclaren logos on the top of his helmet.

    One of the things I’m looking forward to is how Vettel can maneuver going around this rule.

  47. So the FIA has committed to this silly helmet graphics freeze. What an irrelevant waste of effort. In other sports, organising bodies are pushing into mobile information systems – see : PGA tour mobile app (Golf, for those uninterested). It’s a really interesting way to enhance the value of the game.
    Golf isn’t the fastest sport ever… but then motor racing has lots of “hanging about” too. This is the type of officially sanctioned content we need to engage the younger, information hungry sports fan. To the FIA – Please listen! Without new fans our beloved sport will wither and fade away.

  48. I see in the news that the Formula1.com website is about to be updated (for consumption on mobile devices, no less) after a mere nine years since the last redesign. Let’s hope it was worth the wait.

  49. Interesting that Alonso has kept his standard blue & yellow colours at McLaren this time, whereas in 2007 he changed to a cold, grey, Ron Dennis colour scheme.

    What’s also interesting is the helmets of the Mercedes drivers in 2013 were both yellow. You needed a few seconds before you could know who it was. Now, neither of them have yellow helmets.

    Bottas is basically an adaptation of his compatriot Mika Salo.

    Is there an official edict from Mateschitz that says all drivers must have a complicated mess? Aithough I notice Max had attempted a Jos “moustache” at the front even if it doesn’t show too well.

  50. Leigh Woolford
    10th March 2015, 10:32

    Verstappen and Sainz are a bit too much alike.

    My favourite design is Nasr.

  51. ”Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)
    Most iconic helmet i can remember was Piquet(sr.)’s. Could be recognized from miles away.

  52. Lol @ hamilton for giving his helmet a cheeky touch, using the ‘1’ on his helmet

  53. Duncan Snowden
    10th March 2015, 17:55

    There now, how difficult was that, Seb? Vettel’s is one of the cleanest and most distinctive of the lot, now he’s had to choose. His, Ericsson’s, and Nasr’s are the best of the lot. Honourable mentions for Nico, Alonso, and Hulkenberg. Jenson really should go back to his original design. Or pink. That one’s a mess.

  54. Best Helmets are definitely Maldonado, Button & Vettel! Other ones are too over done

  55. Weird how most seem to like the ” simple” designs like the sauber pilots.

  56. Vettel’s helmet is in tribute or just a copy of schumacher’s helmet in his first years of kart, and they both german what is a point in favour for this tribute or copy

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