Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen each have different reasons for sporting special helmets at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Nico Hulkenberg’s Dutch Grand Prix helmet
“A special place that deserves a special helmet,” said Hulkenberg on social media. “I am also delighted to be working with Prince Bernhard and his foundation LymphCo this weekend.
“The foundation has been committed to improving research against lymphoma for years. Great project, which I am happy to support and I will donate my actual race helmet to Bernhard and Lymph&Co on Sunday.”
His Haas team are also carrying Lymph&Co’s logos this weekend.
Valtteri Bottas’ Dutch Grand Prix helmet
Bottas, a bike enthusiast whose partner Tiffany Cromwell is a professional cyclist, is celebrating his two-wheeled passion this weekend with a helmet bearing the lyrics of the 1978 Queen hit Bicycle Race.
“Netherlands. Bicycles. I do like to ride my bicycle,” he declared on social media. Cycling is enormously popular in the Netherlands, where there are famously more bikes (23 million) than people (17.7 million).
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Max Verstappen’s Dutch Grand Prix helmet
Is this the helmet which this weekend’s winner will wear? There’s a decent chance, as Verstappen has cemented his place in the home crowd’s affections by winning all three Dutch grands prix since it returned to the calendar in 2021.
He began wearing his home helmet earlier in the year, which features a suitably orange design and a lion motif. He also incorporated the latter into his usual design.
“It’s associated with the country, the lion, so I like that already,” he explained. “I implemented that into my design with my logo as well on the top and it worked out really well. It just stayed on the helmet and it’s something that you grow into as well.”
Asked what attributes he needs from a lion on the track Verstappen answered: “Kill your prey?”
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Kotrba
24th August 2024, 8:51
Bottas´ helmet design is lovely. Simplistic theme with few but outstanding details on it.
The Hulkenberg and Verstappen ones, in comparison, are messy.
I wish more drivers would chose helmet designs similar to Bottas, but also actually sticked with them along the season. And also that driver helmets would be more visible in the cars, the halo just takes too much from it.
Jere (@jerejj)
24th August 2024, 9:42
I couldn’t agree more about Bottas’ design.
Asd
24th August 2024, 11:27
Yes!!
Automatically Bottas has become the only current F1 driver who’s helmet design I remember, recognize and can recall.
BasCB (@bascb)
24th August 2024, 14:09
Yeah, that Bottas helmet is a real gem of clear clean lines and a few nice details that make a GREAT helmet.
Nick T.
25th August 2024, 6:01
Yeah, a design that wasn’t pure garbage, would probably help that charitable auction do a lot better. They should have hired an artist rather than giving some photoshopper a random list of things to put on a helmet. Ironically, a helmet in the permanent livery of any well known driver would sell for much more than a one-off special (obviously there are some exceptions to that).