'For everyone it’s a sign of personality’ - The 2026 grid share the stories behind their helmet designs

A driver’s helmet is there for more than just safety, it’s a defining part of their on-track identity. Instantly recognisable, it showcases not only who is behind the wheel but tells a story of who they are beneath the visor.

But what inspired their 2026 creations? We handed the mic to our drivers to talk through their designs for this season, as they share the inspirations and personal touches that make each helmet unmistakably their own.

NINA GADEMAN

“It’s pink! The wing design is always the same, so they’re always on it no matter what. Last year, I didn't know what the car was going to look like, so I thought it would be a really cool idea to do blue and pink. But this year, I knew it was going to stay pink, so I thought it would be really cool if I went full pink. Usually, it’s white with gold wings, but I think the pink looks really cool. I look like a Power Ranger!

“The only thing we changed was the line work on the front and back. It’s a bit different and more aggressive. My dog Nola died in January, so I put her on the back. Overall, the helmet is like a big guardian angel with a halo on the top, but most people miss this. You can never drive faster than your guardian angel basically.”

MEGAN BRUCE

“My helmet design has the TAG Heuer watch face on each side, which I think is really cool because it's quite unique. I haven't seen it done before so I quite like it. Then we also we have a lot of red because my favourite colour is red and a black stripe connecting each side. I kept that from my old design because I wanted to keep a bit of it the same.

“At the back we have my favourite part, I’ve added my dog Coco on to it. She’s really cute and I wanted her on there. I also have my sponsor Lanzante at the top. I was lucky to get red inside, which is really cool. I really like how it’s turned out.”

EMMA FELBERMAYR

“It’s always pretty similar to the year before. I like to have similarities with all the helmets to show that it's my helmet. For everyone it’s a sign of personality, so it's the same for me. That’s why I have the quote ‘Follow Your Dreams’ on the top of the helmet. The advice I would give to other young girls or to my younger self is to never stop believing, so I’ve had it on my helmet for years.

“The colours are this year are pink, black, silver, grey, and red. Representing the Audi colours is a big privilege for me, so including the colours into the helmet was really important and also matching with the car and the suit to look good. I think the pink is a really powerful colour and it’s a pink not everyone has because it’s really bright, so it stands out a bit.”

MATHILDA PAATZ

“It’s in the colours of the Aston Martin green and we’ve got a bit of pink and blue in it. Blue is my favourite colour and I think pink highlights the feminine side a bit. Then we’ve got a lioness on the top because it’s my zodiac sign. If you think about it, the female lion is much stronger than the male lion and it’s a very strong animal that I really connect with.

“We’ve got the Aston Martin logos everywhere which is nice. We’ve got the wings on the back of the head, I really like them and I feel like the wings give you the power that you can everything like flying. I say my superpower would be to fly, so that’s cool. We’ve also got some glittery highlights which are very important and the Aston Martin green — I think it’s such a beautiful colour.”

PAYTON WESTCOTT

“I have green, purple and black as my main colours. I wanted the green because I always match my car and my helmet together and the black matches the car. Purple’s my favourite colour, it’s kind of my signature colour. On the back, I have my logo. It’s a P that has a bit of a circle around it, I like it a lot because it looks like a racetrack.

“I also have pineapples on my helmet — this is a bit of a tricky story to explain. When I was nine, that’s when I became very serious about go-kart racing. I had this shirt which had a pineapple on it that I always wore to the track. It was the shirt I wore every single time I tested, so when I had my go-kart, I had it wrapped entirely in pineapples. It’s just been something that I’ve brought with me through all my helmets. I’ve had a pineapple on every single one, so it’s a little moment to remember why I love motorsports and what I’m doing it for.”

ALBA LARSEN

“It’s super different, I really love it! It’s very simple and I think it’s quite iconic. The baby blue is a very iconic Ferrari colour. Back in the 70s, the Ferrari mechanics had suits in this colour. I’ve also seen it in a lot of other stuff like in the movie Cars. There’s this little guy (Guido) who changes the tyres. It also stands out when you see the car and the suit, which are red.

“I have the Ferrari logo on the front, which I’m really honoured to wear. I also have a white and red stripe on my helmet, which is for the Danish colours and also the two Ferrari colours, so it matches. Then on the back I have a big Alba logo, so people always know that it's me in the helmet.

“The helmet is super important because you can personalise it. For me, the details are very important. I like when it’s simple. It goes back to the old days of Formula 1 when people were having super iconic but simple helmets. Everyone knows who you are when they see that helmet. I tried to make it quite simple so you can spot it easily. For me, the helmet is a way of expressing yourself and it's very fashionable. I really love that, so every detail is super important.”

LISA BILLARD

“It’s designed by Gatorade with the orange, white and black to match the car. There’s a zigzag just like the Gatorade logo on the side and my motto is on the back ‘No Risk, No Story’. I’ve always put it on my helmets since I was a little girl, so that’s cool.

“Then there’s my name and the FFSA (French Federation of Automobile Sport) logo on the front. It’s very simple but that’s good because when you watch the helmet in the car, you can see that it’s me. It’s more beautiful with the colours and the design when it’s matched with the car.”

RAFAELA FERREIRA

“My helmet is really similar to my helmet last year because I think it’s the identity of the driver, so I want to keep the same colours that I’ve always used in my life that are white, pink and blue. The amazing thing is that because the Red Bull logo is blue here on the sides, it matches perfectly.

“On top we have the flag of Brazil that I love, it’s really nice. We have my sponsors Cash App and Visa on the sides. I have a special thing on the back. It’s a sentence I have with me, it’s ‘Be Strong And Brave’. I think it was really useful last year and I think maybe this year it’s going to be really good too!”

NATALIA GRANADA

“I wanted to bring my triangular designs over from my go-kart helmet. I also wanted it to be quite different from my previous go-kart design as it’s a big change for me, it’s a big step starting in single-seater racing and racing on big tracks. I really wanted to do a switch to represent the change in my career through my helmet.

“I chose the colour gold. I always wanted to have that colour and never dared to do it, but after not driving last year and with this opportunity coming along, I was very clear on what I wanted to do this year. I wanted my helmet to represent a little bit of the change and the opportunity that F1 ACADEMY is bringing me, so I wanted to make it quite bold. I like it, it’s such a personal thing so you have to like it yourself.”

ELLA LLOYD

“My helmet has always been pink and blue and I’ve got my logo on the helmet, which gives it a touch of gold. We have an E shape on each side of the helmet and both last year and this year, I’ve got my number on the top as well. I’ve also got the EL initials on the back as well like my logo.

“Can’t forget the Welsh dragon by my name on the side of the helmet. It’s also got papaya on it, it’s a luminous orange. This is the third year of this design. I’ve changed it a little bit over the years, but it’s generally the same.

“Your helmet is your own thing isn’t it. Obviously my suit and my car are McLaren, so to have something that I can design and have my touch on is quite nice. It stands out on track, that's the main thing!”

ALISHA PALMOWSKI

“It’s a very, very fast design! I’ve kept the same general idea as what I had last year. I’ve kept the British flag on top and my number on top as well. Obviously, I’ve got the Red Bull logo on the side which takes up majority of the space. It's the new Red Bull logo this year with more white on it, so I think it really pops out more.

“Throughout the rest of the helmet I've kept the red, white and blue colour scheme but with less white because there’s more white that features on the Red Bull logo and a little bit more red around the front and the back. It’s mainly because of the British flag because I'm very proud to be British and I love being at home. I like to bring Britain with me everywhere I go.

“I've kept my star on the rear of my helmet with my initials, sort of like my logo, which I love. I’ve also got a song lyric, it’s Barry Manilow — I’ve got so much street cred — saying ‘We Dreamers Have Our Ways’. It’s the start of a song which I really love. Then I’ve got my sponsors RS Connect and Mobil 1, which are great additions. I’ve kept the gold outline which I absolutely love, it’s a bit of me with the sparkle and glitter, I love it!”

ELLA STEVENS

“I’ve had pretty much the same design for the past five years now, but we’ve slightly changed it each time. It’s meant to be pink, not purple but it’s fine, I like purple. I’ve got my number #28 on top. My brother was born on April 28, and being the little sister, I picked #28. Well, I was #29 when he was racing with #28 because I wasn’t allowed to have it. Then as soon as he stopped, I picked #28.

“The original design came from needing a helmet really last minute. I basically said, ‘I need a helmet and I need to have this writing on it’ and they sent me the helmet. I hated it and then about six months later, I loved it!”

ESMEE KOSTERMAN

“It's a crazy design! It's so beautiful and so different than the other types of helmets, especially with the LEGO eyes on the visor, that's my favourite part. My race number is on top, which is #32 because LEGO was founded in 1932. I like that there’s something behind the number.

“The quote ‘Built To Race’ is really powerful because we as females are also built to race in this world. That’s why I think The LEGO Group and F1 ACADEMY is a perfect match because they struggle with the same thing, so we can make a difference.

“Then there’s the glittery lines, every helmet I’ve had so far I’ve had something glittery because it’s a little girly touch. Also, I always want something about my country on my helmet. On my last helmet I had three stripes of the Dutch flag and now I have the lion, which is really nice.”

AVA DOBSON

“Obviously it’s blue for American Express, with lots of American Express logos on it to really represent the partner this year. Of course, it has my name on it — have to know who’s driving!

“I have a bit of gold on it to add a little bit of flavour to it, but I feel like it also represents the gold AMEX card in a way. We’re also running a gold visor to match (…) I do like gold a lot. I only wear gold jewellery, so I feel it matches the vibe I’m going for. Then we have a US flag on the back quite big so you’ll be able to see it.

“I get asked this a lot, why do I have ‘Vamos’ on the back? It’s to represent one of my old engineers I had in GB4. It was our thing to always say vamos before the race or Qualifying, it was really funny and just good memories."

RACHEL ROBERTSON

“I’ve only ever had one painted helmet before and I had a few glimpses of dark purple on it, so I really wanted to integrate that more into this helmet. Additionally, I’ve got a few red details and I wanted it to stand out and it definitely shows a bit of an aggressive side. Then it's got a lot of silver on it and I really like that for when it is sunny to show in the light.

“Of course, I've got a few PUMA stickers underneath the visor on both sides, so I'm really happy to have them on my helmet. Then I have some very bright pink, there are a few glimpses of it throughout the helmet. Not a lot of drivers have their name on the back of their helmet and I don’t know why but in karting, I really liked the thought of knowing who you’re behind. You’d know them anyways because you learn their helmets, but I wanted to almost rub it in their faces that they’re behind me, so I quite like having my last name written across the back.

“I did think I should include a very small Scottish flag to remind myself and remind everyone else where I’m from, I was going back to my roots. The helmet is the only thing that you can have your creative ideas on, so it’s very important to keep that for yourself. I’ve always liked not matching my helmet to a team or anything, just having it how I like it.”

KAYLEE COUNTRYMAN

“I really like how it turned out. It’s pretty bright, the bright blue and bright red go together quite nicely. I’ve had a few people say that it looks like Captain America, but personally I don’t really see it. The red goes nicely with the Haas colours as well, so I’m excited to wear it out there on track.

“On the back there are some simple lines and my number because I’m running the same number for both series (in F1 ACADEMY and the USF2000 Championship), so it’s easy to keep that there. Then there’s just a simple back that I think brings the whole helmet together because the front of it is complex, the sides are simple and the top is pretty neat as well.

“I was inspired by Charles Leclerc’s helmet and always loved the design that he used, but I figured that I shouldn’t prioritise my number and I knew I wanted to prioritise the Haas logo instead. I was a fan of his, but didn’t want to copy it, so instead I made it a little bit my own. The blue came from one of George Russell’s helmets in 2024 and the red from one of Leclerc’s helmets in 2024 or 2025. I tied them together because I thought they would mix well.”

JADE JACQUET

“I have the Williams logo at the top and front of the helmet, along with the FFSA logo and the French flag to represent my country. On the side, there is a lightning bolt because this year I’m using #95 which is Lightning McQueen’s number, so I took the lightning bolt to represent the speed.

“On the back you can see the French flag with my racing numbers and the lightning bolts crossing. My helmet is blue because it’s my favourite colour. I also love the glitter, so I had put glitter on my karting helmets as well. Then you have the stars at the top of the helmet, but I don’t know why I put them like that. I had them on my karting helmets, so I brought them on to my new helmet.”