Winging it with an Alpine flair – Nina Gademan on her 2025 F1 ACADEMY helmet design

Nina Gademan’s helmet design is one that’s remained a constant presence on track over the years, but this season she’s hoping it’ll help her fly to the top of the timing sheets.

We caught up with the Alpine driver as she talks us through her 2025 look, detailing her favourite parts and why her upcoming home round in Zandvoort has her thinking outside the box…

“I have this typical design with the wings on the side, the halo on top and the feathers falling down on the back for five years now,” she explained. “I designed it in 2019. I went to the designer with this idea and I've never really changed it up.

“Normally, it’s white with gold wings but I wanted it to match the Alpine (car), so I did the blue and the pink. It’s supposed to be like a guardian angel, so I can’t drive faster than my guardian angel.

“My favourite part of the helmet is definitely the wings. I really like the design of the wings. Also, that you can still see it a little bit here (by the visor). Normally, on the other visor sticker I’ve got the design going through the visor sticker as well so it looks a bit better.

“It was quite easy for me to pick out my design because I wanted the helmet to match the Alpine colours and the car in general. Now the car doesn’t have blue in the end, but it really matches the suit and everything else.

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“I think the helmet design is quite important. It's the only thing we can design really, and I think it shows our personality a little bit. Some people have a really outgoing helmet design, some like m keep it a bit more clean and simple. I think that describes the driver a bit more and it’s also really nice for the fans to see a bit of our own stuff and work into it.

“What I want to try one day — maybe I’ll do it for a one-off weekend like a home Grand Prix on something — is that the feathers are a bit ripped and you see them fall swirling behind. It gives it more of an aggressive look, so I might try that, but I’ll always keep the wings in it plus the halo. Maybe for Zandvoort, I might do something crazy with Dutch stuff on it or a stroopwafel wing or something.”