The Fascinating Evolution of F1 Helmets 

Funny to think that the ile of man tt was at one point the safest motorsport event

Kimi: "Did you connect the drink?" Radio: "No Kimi, you will not have the drink"

2:00 so charles leclerc really did time travel

"Tracks were lined with trees not guardrails.....there was no separation between spectators and cars" sounds an awful lot like modern-day rally

7:36 The Stig’s F1 cousin

The leather cap is ever so fashionable.

Massa's injury was insane. Unbelievable lucky.

07:35 those helmets don't look like Stormtrooper helmets, it's actually the other way round. George Lucas, a huge motorsports fan, gave the concept artist photos from Autosport as a guide to what he envisaged for the Stormtroopers and Vader (although at that point Vader was only to wear the helmet when piloting his fighter not all the time)

Driver 61 becoming my go to motorsport channel now

Throwback to when everyone complained about the halo ruining the "aesthetics" of the car but it potentially saved two lives within the first few months it was implemented

A good helmet is simply the one thing that will definitely make a difference in case of an accident so don’t go cheap on them! I’ve had an horrific motorcycle crash 15 years ago which cost me a leg and gave me some nearly fatal injuries but what saved me was my helmet which I keep to this day! By now I shifted up my helmet budget by a few notches because if the shit hits the fan you have to count on your gear. Stay safe!

11:50 Is the drink on or not - Kimi

I honestly really like the halo. I think it brings a really futuristic look to the cars, with the added bonus of those stat holograms that they overlay on them on TV. That looks really cool. Also, great video about helmets.

The white cloth helmet shown at 2:30 was white for a reason. After an accident it made it easier for rescuers to identify exactly where on the head the driver was bleeding from because blood would show up rather well against the white cloth.

Great stuff! But I was a bit disappointed you didn't mention the introduction of vortex generators and other recent aero enhancements. Thanks for the awesome material.

It's interesting how helmets were something used throughout most of human history, but they were mostly thought of as something you use when other people are actively trying to kill you, not something used when you are actively busy trying to kill yourself racing:D

The 70s narrow aperture helmets were about fear of fence poles in track catch fencing.

It's amazing how much changes have been made on the helmet even the slightest of changes to protect the driver whilst bringing comfort

Very interesting and nicely crafted documentary. I painted racing drivers helmets back in the early 1980's when the designs were much simpler, but were probably more recognisable and the driver usually kept his (or her) design for his (or her) entire career. I painted several F1 helmets including Alan Jones when he was F1 champion in 1980, and did all of the helmets for the Rothmans Rally Team for a couple of years. (Ari Vattanen, Walter Rohrl, Jimmy McRae, Henri Toivonen etc). I painted 38 helmets for them in one year, because if they had an "off", they had to ditch the helmets. I also painted helmets for Desire Wilson, Gina Campbell (Power Boats), Chilean Eliseo Salazar (He knocked Piquet off when he was leading in Hockenheim in 1982), Mansour Ojjeh when TAG sponsored Williams, and had a great tour of their facility and wind tunnel, hosted by the perma-tanned Charlie Crichton-Stuart. I once had to physically hack-saw off a bit of helmet window on a couple of Simpson helmets as the supplier only had a couple of the narrow window helmets and the rally drivers needed large windows. I asked for a letter exonerating me from any liability if the helmets disintegrated on impact! The helmets also came with a "D" ring on the left side as the drivers were hooked onto the car on anti clockwise circuits (Interlagos, Brasil) and their neck muscles would fail because of they were not strong on the left side. I was regularly requested to angle grind off the D ring as it wasn't often used and rattled annoyingly if not gaffer taped on. I actually retired from painting the helmets when I was 24 as I started a great job designing exhibition stands, and helmet painting was just a hobby that went a bit out of control. I lasted 33 years in the same exhibition job and travelled the world working in 44 countries, so no regrets! I'm still a petrol head to this day, and still work in exhibitions, if they ever re-start.....

Jacky Ickx and Jochen Mass' helmets were the most intimidating. Such cool designs.

One correction: helmet designs today are more ornate Easter eggs because of HD TV. 70s analog TV meant the designs had to be much simpler to be distinguished. Modern designs are often so overdone they cannot be distinguished. Also, no driver ever changed their helmet designs until recently.

It is so easy to forget that it was not all that long ago when there were no corner workers with fire extinguishers, no radio systems, no warning flags. You would know that your driver had crashed when he did not reach the pits in the expected time and you would see smoke from uptrack. I remember seeing Ralph Schumacher's USA crash in 2005 thinking "Where the .... are the doctors and safety workers?" and then reflecting on how much had changed. Please keep doing these "Evolution" type videos. It is good to show/remind people what racing used to be and just how dangerous it was and still is.

Love the "incorrect number of wheels" comment about motorbikes. 😁

I have been watching through your videos about the evolution of various aspects of F1. As an automotive technician i find it very interesting how many safety features and technology that can be found in modern cars had there start in F1 and it is definitely making me a fan of this channel and F1

I've seen a couple other vids about F1 helmets but this was definitely the most well-researched

I had the honor to meet and discuss on several occasions with a man who was the last driver to wear an open-faced helmet in Formula One. He was Leo Kinnunen, a well-known and often seen person in my hometown of Turku, Finland (the legendary Jarno Saarinen was also from the same town).

Speaking of getting used to the new stuff. I watched the qualy for the F1 race today. I don't think I noticed a halo even once :O

I love how they were noticing concussions back then before concussions were a thing amazing

People should remember that if you drop a modern helmet from even waist height onto a hard surface that you have comprised its crash absorption ability.

It's nice to see all the photos and clips related to the story. Thanks!

Very informative. Thank you!!

Loving the historical analysis! More please! I could watch these all days.

Please do more of this evolution in F1, they are amazing, great work!

The halo really is the best safety device invented in the racing car since the seatbelt.

Simply an amazing content, thank you for your great efforts on giving us these information about F1 helmets.

Very informative video!! Saw a few helmets I've never seen. Thanks for posting!!

One tiny detail that is often omitted is that the doctor who invented the helmet actually got the idea after Lawrence of Arabia got killed on his motorcycle when he returned to England. That doctor was Lawrence's doctor too.

Amazing video, stuffed with information but not boring at all!!

So informative, so entertaining, I love this video, couldn't get enough. Cheers

Riding on a motorized fuel tank? Nah cloth will do. Polo?! Are you mad!? Of course we'll wear a helmet!

I love this kind of content, please do more like this!

12:28 this is pretty important after the Bahrain Grand Prix

Excellent post!! Great information. Well presented.

Very well done & informative video. Kudos lad

I remember Massa's accident but never had I seen his injury. So thankful to the advancements in helmet design, to see him racing beyond that race.

Really good video thanks for making this

Absolutely phenomenal video! Great job. 👍

Didnt know I needed this video but turns out I did. Very informative.

There's a lot of them, but this has to be the most extensive history of helmet technology video on youtube

another great and interesting video! thanks!

Some great footage and great research

Great video, well researched and informative. Ten out of ten, Driver61. Thanks.

Great video, really well put together

Superb info. Thank you always good!

Interesting...and well presented. Thank you 👍👍

great video. very informative. liked and subscribed.

Awesome video man!

I’d rather watch these videos than an actual race at this point. Excellent content

Great video mate! Congrats!

The reason why lauda lost his hemet was because it was fitted with thick foam material to increase comfort. This foam compressed probably due to heat, caused the helmet to fell off.

RIP Sir Stirling Moss ❤️ a racing legend who will always be Remembered greatly and will be in the motorsport history books forever

its really nice how you always make an interesting video

A master piece video!! Tks

Great vid on something I hadn't really.vonsidered, thanks for the insight

Top notch video!! 👍🏁👍🏁

a very nice video thanks Scott

Excellent watch and great footage.

Simpson came on the scene with The Stig helmet and hasn't changed since. I love it

I had an agv x1 back in 1984/5. I split the back in an accident, I wish I still had it. White, red lining, mirrored visor, a really comfortable lid to wear.

Great video! Well written and really interesting J

Excellent video. Love your channel

Your first description of racing, no guardrails, no separation from spectators. . . You are describing modern rally racing. So scary, but still some of the most skilled drivers of all time.

Really cool to see Ronnie mentioned. He was so underrated and held back by the team.

This was such an informative video❤️😭

Very interesting video, thanks.

This is my 3rd video of yours - was about to say it would be useful to mention what else was going on in other racing leagues, like Le Mans, Indycar, etc. and how they may have innovated or established a new tech or practice. So the motorcycle stuff in the beginning was spot on.

At 4:45 that really looks like the drivers arm the fireman is tugging on

Very informative!

great vid, great footages.

3:12 I believe the guy on the left is Steve Rogers

Great video, shame that despite the great detail in modern helmet artwork they're often not as recognisable as the older, simple and iconic designs of the past. With the halo they're even less visible. I wonder if drivers will be allowed to customise the halo colours of their cars in the future to aid identification

That was a realy intresting subject, great work. Can you do episod about the racing "overalls"

In the 80's, when I was racing, I wore the same Bell XFM-1 many F1 and Indy Car drivers wore. That was about the best you could buy then. Today, top level helmets cost 10 times what I paid for mine. Of course, those are 20 times safer.

Awesome video 👍👍😊

watching this after the Grosjean incident is shocking

Alonso-Leclerc crash stopped the halo discussion completely. We had a crash between a driver who almost got his head removed in the same corner, to go over a young promising talent that was very well liked by absolutely everyone. It was like faith was showing "look, you idiots, that is why i put it there"..

Hamiltons purple helmet looks amazing this year!

Very interesting . . . thank you!

I must admit I was skeptical about the Halo before it was introduced. But its already proved its worth many times over.

You have very interesting videos. 👍

Fun fact the Simpson bandit is the helmet that the stig wears from the British show top gear.

Rest in peace Nikki🙏👑❤️

at the beginn we all hate the helo system but its one of the best ideas the racing sport ever had

Cool video mate, thanks for the info, my favorite helmet manufacturer would be Arai, I love everything automotive related, so a brand that makes the worlds best motorcycle helmets is cool for me. 👊

Fascinating. Thank you

2:35 I can’t be the only one who wants to see this specific scene in full color in 4K It could be like one of those TV Yule logs, but it’s a tranquil Floridian road and every 3 minutes a bunch of 50s f1 cars roar by and disturb the peace in a beautiful display of speed and noise

Dan Gurney needs a movie yesterday. The storm trooper bandit is bad ass

Great video. I have subscribed.

Formula video + listening to the music I like (Delta Parole, Metallica and other) make me feel the speed and excitement!

@ 7:37 The "Simpson Bandit" is so badass looking!