“The White Helmet with the Flag is Now his Distinctive Mark” – Helmet Designer on Sebastian Vettel

Back in his Red Bull days, Sebastian Vettel was well-known for changing his helmet design at the drop of a hat. As a result, the FIA came up with the ‘Sebastian Vettel Rule’ forcing drivers to avoid changing their helmets too often.

So, drivers have to stick with one single design and have their helmet changes limited to one or two extraordinary circumstances. Vettel’s regular helmet supplier, Jens Munser recently spoke about the issue and the effect on the drivers.

He told Auto Motor und Sport, “I don’t think that all drivers will use it so extremely. Lando Norris has already announced something in this direction, but most drivers will probably only do something new for certain races. Max (Verstappen), for example, was quite satisfied as it was before. And also with Sebastian (Vettel) the very wild times are over. The white helmet with the flag is now his distinctive mark and will probably remain so. We were able to let off steam under the old rules. We used to play with details over and over again without changing the basic design”

Sebastian Vettel was forced to break the habit

Suffice to say, Vettel has done his utmost to follow the rules and stick to one solitary design. However, the FIA has granted some leeway, where drivers can come out with alternate helmets. Though, the only rule is that the new design should not be too different from the original design.

The good news is that this is a condition that Sebastian Vettel can work with. So, he is a lot more recognisable with that familiar white lid with the German flag. Of course, if he wished to have a new design, he could have it done before the season begins. The likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have unveiled new designs before the 2020 season was set to begin. So, with the summer shutdown, it’s not too late for Vettel to come up with a revamped lid.