Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsFormula 1

Helmet design changes to be banned

Drivers will not be allowed to use more than one helmet design during a season following a move by the FIA to make helmets more identifiable.

With no limit on how many times a driver can change his helmet design, a number of drivers have been open to using multiple designs throughout a season, with Sebastian Vettel the driver who changes his the most often on the current grid. However, in a move to make drivers more recognisable in their cars, it was agreed at the F1 Commission meeting in Geneva this week that drivers will have to stick to one design per season.

"The FIA is keen to have stability so people can identify who is in the car," an F1 Commission member told Reuters. "The new phenomenon of drivers changing helmet every few races isn't helping.”

The move comes after the FIA introduced permanent driver numbers for a driver’s complete F1 career, a regulation which was also designed to help fans identify with drivers.

Imposing a limit of one design per season will prevent drivers from using one-off tribute helmets, such as Kimi Raikkonen running a James Hunt helmet at Monaco 2013 and Lewis Hamilton using an Ayrton Senna design at Brazil in 2011.

The ban still must be ratified at the next World Motor Sport Council meeting in order to be introduced for this coming season.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.