Space Age Formula One Helmets

Helmets are a bulky, heavy and hot and the only time your likely to miss one is when you really need it. We often only pay attention to helmets when they don’t do the job they were designed to do. You can bet that Felipe Massa is thanking his lucky helmet and maybe having it bronzed and put in his personal museum at home. His helmet saved his life Saturday when he was struck in the head by a part off of one of the other vehicles on the track during qualifying rounds for the Hungarian Grand Prix. This incident has sparked debates between industry professionals and brought the issue of safety in Formula One to the forefront of current conversations. It is also a great example of the strides in helmet safety that have been made since the days of Legendary drivers like Juan Manuel Fangio who were more concerned about speed than safety.

Formula One helmets protect lives

The space age helmets used in Formula One races use safety standards that are set by the FIA and the criteria have been adopted by all three of the main Formula One helmet manufacturers, Bell, Arai and Schuberth. The resulting helmet designs were made compulsory by the World Motor Sport Council in 2004 and are currently used in racing competitions around the world. The exact composition of the materials that are incorporated into a Formula One helmet are kept secret for obvious reasons but they do the job they were designed to do as was illustrated by this incident with Felipe Massa.

The outer shell consists of multiple layers of various materials designed to provide safety against impact, fire and heat and even flying debris like the type that hit Felipe Massa. Typically weighting a minimum of 1250 grams helmets are designed to be super strong and absorb damage and penetration from both crashes and flying debris. All helmets undergo a comprehensive list of tests to examine all aspects of a helmets ability to protect the driver from injury during a Formula One race. In fact, the helmets used in Formula One races are tested as completely as the cars, as are all aspects of Formula One safety, and undergo a battery of tests that would impress Einstein.

The tests and helmet designers did the job for Felipe Massa and this incident with Massa must give the other drivers a feeling that the helmets they wear will do the job they were designed to do. This event will certainly re-energize the industry to strive to make Formula One racing as safe as possible for industry professionals and the fans that come to the races and this is a good thing.

“Image: Zuma Press”