Ayrton Senna`s trademark yellow, green and blue helmet was ranked the most iconic in Formula One history by British magazine Autosport. The renowned motor sports magazine`s website has published, this Wednesday (178h), a list with the top ten best designs ever in the category.
Besides the helmet with the Brazilian flag`s colors donned by Ayrton, the list also features Emerson Fittipaldi`s dark-blue and red helmet and Nelson Piquet`s red drop. Both appeared among the ten greatest.
Ayrton`s helmet was designed by Sid Mosca in the late `70s, as commissioned by the driver. The artist`s goal was to celebrate the nation`s colors and evoke a sense of speed, with the blue and green stripes coming out of the visor. The design soon became Senna`s calling card in go-kart racing and was carried over to his winning career in F1.
Recently, helmets became a hot topic in F1 circles due to the International Automobile Federation`s proposal to ban drivers from changing their helmet design during the season. The ruling can help bring back a stronger identification between drivers and fans – something that may have been lost as drivers started to change helmet designs from race to race throughout the season.
Check out Autosport`s full list:
1- Ayrton Senna
2- Nigel Mansell
3- Nelson Piquet
4- Gilles Villeneuve
5- Graham Hill
6- Jacques Villeneuve
7- Emerson Fittipaldi
8- Ronnie Peterson
9- Jean Alesi
10- Jackie Stewart