Formula 1 drivers can sometimes be superstitious, whether it is getting into one specific side of a race car or the order in which they put on their gear.
For some drivers they like to have the same helmet design throughout their career, with only small adjustments to enable them to have team sponsors on the design.
In the early years, drivers would tend to have simple or no designs on their helmet at all due to the focus on practicality and safety, but as that evolved so too did the designs.
Now you can see drivers have more than one design in a season, however, there was a period when it was outlawed by the FIA.
Oscar Piastri uses two custom helmets in three races
Driver identification became a bit of a topic a decade ago, when all the liveries were virtually the same colours and the cars looked vaguely similar.
Commentators and fans watching on TV can easily identify each driver using the T-cam colours, but there was also an effort to prevent them from switching helmet designs every race.
Sebastian Vettel was one of the main culprits, sometimes changing them up to 10 times in a season when he was at Red Bull.
A rule in the F1 sporting regulations was brought into effect to help with driver identification in 2015, which stated every helmet “must be presented in substantially the same livery at every event during a championship” with one exception reserve for a race of their choice.
This was later lifted in 2020 after criticism towards the governing body after it prevented Daniil Kvyat from wearing a special helmet for his home race.
Oscar Piastri has now presented two different helmet designs in three races so far this season, with a special helmet introduced for the Japanese GP.
Other drivers have also changed their designs for this weekends race, including Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly.
- READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend
Charles Leclerc commemorates 150th Grand Prix with special helmet
Leclerc has commemorated his 150th Grand Prix in F1 with a special helmet, with it paying tribute to his journey in the sport.
The special edition helmet features personal details such as key people from his career, including his father and the late Jules Bianchi, who helped him in his junior career.
“It’s quite crazy, it just feels like yesterday that I started that dream of being an F1 driver. I never expected to end up in Ferrari so early in my career, still chasing the dream of being a world champion, but that is the story about this helmet,” said Leclerc.
It is an impressive milestone for the Monogasque, who started his career off in Alfa Romeo Sauber in 2018 before moving to Ferrari in 2019.
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