Dummy Helmets

[PlatinumZealot]

The helmet is what of us use to Identify our driver on the race track and even special designs were something to look forward to during the season. Even little nuances of the head movement during battle was pleasing to watch. With the Halo now its all gone to crap - you just can't see the Helmet in full from any distance. It's going to be disaster. I know this sounds crazy... but what if a dummy helmet was mounted somewhere on the car, or at least a large helmet graphic painted onto the engine cover? Thoughts?

[Just_a_fan]

They paint the driver's number on the car's nose and sharkfin. Do we really need the helmet to identify the driver these days?

[DiogoBrand]

The halo has ruined what we used to call "Open wheel racing" and I'm afraid there's not much we can do.

[zac510]

Honestly I have struggled to identify the drivers by helmets for the last 10 years anyway, with a few exceptions when solid colours were used on the top (Hamilton's yellow, Schumacher's red). Outside of that they are all covered with sponsor stickers and/or use detailed designs that don't transfer well to TV.

edit: and changing the design every week!

[santos]

For years, i've been watching F1, and There are only a few helmets i can identify. So the halo won't be a problem for me.
And it still is "open Wheel racing". The halo is around the cockpit, not around the wheels.

[GTO99]

"Identifying drivers" is not a problem in closed cockpit racing series, so I don't understand what all the fuss is about.

[Sieper]

Open series see the helmet, closed series, see the car, open series with halo, almost no helmet in view anymore eventhough it is supposed to be an open cockpit series. The fuzz is still about the fact that the halo has a significant impact on what open cockpit racing actually means.

[NathanOlder]

I think the teams should now be allowed to go down the NASCAR route. Have different painted cars within the same team. Works great in NASCAR, Fedex and M&M's make team mates look completely different.
Plus it could help teams to have more sponsors although the income may be the same as before, it would still help identifying drivers and give drivers even more individual status. Drivers could then attract individual sponsors easier as they would only sponsor 1 car so could be more affordable.

[Maritimer]

The halo has ruined what we used to call "Open wheel racing" and I'm afraid there's not much we can do.

Last time I checked they were still open wheel...

[3jawchuck]

The wheels are still open and the cockpits are still open. The halo might be a monstrosity but it isn't shaking to the core the very meaning of open wheel/cockpit racing. Stop being so dramatic people.

Besides, numbers and abbreviations are better for driver ID than helmets. I personally haven't used a helmet to identify a driver since around Häkkinen's day.

[DiogoBrand]

The halo has ruined what we used to call "Open wheel racing" and I'm afraid there's not much we can do.

Last time I checked they were still open wheel...

I meant open cockpit. Had too little sleep last night.

[DiogoBrand]

I think the teams should now be allowed to go down the NASCAR route. Have different painted cars within the same team. Works great in NASCAR, Fedex and M&M's make team mates look completely different.
Plus it could help teams to have more sponsors although the income may be the same as before, it would still help identifying drivers and give drivers even more individual status. Drivers could then attract individual sponsors easier as they would only sponsor 1 car so could be more affordable.

I think they should mandate different colors for the wings and/or endplates.
So for example Vettel could have red wings and Raikkonen white ones. Hamilton could have blue wings and bottas silver, Ricciardo blue and Verstappen red, Alonso blue and Vandoorne orange and so on. Way better than just lime green T cam and rear crash structure IMO.

[NathanOlder]

The wheels are still open and the cockpits are still open. The halo might be a monstrosity but it isn't shaking to the core the very meaning of open wheel/cockpit racing. Stop being so dramatic people.

Besides, numbers and abbreviations are better for driver ID than helmets. I personally haven't used a helmet to identify a driver since around Häkkinen's day.

Im sure you would have used Hamilton's yellow crash helmet at some point to identify him or his team mate.

[3jawchuck]

The wheels are still open and the cockpits are still open. The halo might be a monstrosity but it isn't shaking to the core the very meaning of open wheel/cockpit racing. Stop being so dramatic people.

Besides, numbers and abbreviations are better for driver ID than helmets. I personally haven't used a helmet to identify a driver since around Häkkinen's day.

Im sure you would have used Hamilton's yellow crash helmet at some point to identify him or his team mate.

Quite possibly, but I don't remember. I've not consciously thought about helmets for quite a while now.

[Leon]

I would love to see different/custom decorated cars for drivers besides helmets, numbers and camera colors, a-la NASCAR