The New Safety Standard F1 Helmet Looks Weirdly Sinister

The helmet you see here is not a prop for a post-apocalyptic action film featuring authoritarian soldiers wanting to crack down on the local populace. The lid is actually a showcase for the new FIA helmet standard that’s coming to F1 next year, and the reason it looks weirdly sinister is the already small visor aperture of the old design has been lowered by 10mm.

It’s supposed to be for better ballistic protection, something the FIA tested extensively. How? By firing a 225g projectile in its direction at 150mph. Combined with the new Halo device, a repeat of the kind of head injury sustained by Felipe Massa in 2009 - when the Brazilian was struck by a stray coil spring - should now be very unlikely.

The new helmet is also capable of withstanding a 10kg weight being dropped onto it from a height of 5.1 metres without transmitting a force of over 10 kN to the wearer, and was tested for flame resistance by being exposed to a 790-degree centigrade fire.

It’s better at absorbing energy whatever the impact, and can even be shot at with an air rifle without the pellets entering the inside of the helmet.

FIA Safety Director Laurent Mekies had the following to say about the new standard:

“The current top-end helmets are already the safest in the world but the new standard will take them to the next level.

“It is important for all of our safety research that we continually strive to improve and this is why we are requiring all manufacturers to meet this tougher standard for our championships.”