While it’s common to see Formula 1 drivers sporting uniquely painted new helmets while racing, this weekend’s event will be a first. Never, in fact, has a watchmaking house experienced such a spotlight. Admittedly, watch brands are very present in F1, displaying their name on the single-seaters or on the racing suits of the stars of the circuits, but this weekend, at Spa, Esteban Ocon is innovating.
Esteban Ocon, 26, is proud of this helmet that he will only wear during the Belgian Grand Prix: “This helmet is going to look good,” he says. © Timo Ernst
Wearing a helmet adorned with a watchmaking logo, it was the Alpine pilot who had the idea. “It was me who proposed it,” he confirms, assuring that it made sense to him to do it with Bell
Wearing a Bell Chronograph
Among various aesthetic proposals, it is a design with a very racing spirit that seduced Esteban Ocon. The Bell Mention
A large format ampersand surmounts Esteban Ocon’s favorite number, which has made its helmet a space of creative freedom. © Timo Ernst
For a pilot, nothing is more personal than his helmet, it is estimated in the world of motorsports. “My helmet is my identity, assures the pilot of Alpine number 31. It’s the last thing I can imagine myself. I have the choice of colors and partners to achieve it. This remains our ultimate space of freedom, the rest necessarily belongs to the stable. Sunday, shortly before 3 p.m., Esteban Ocon will close the visor of his helmet-work of art. At the wheel of his single-seater, on the starting line, he will then be in his bubble. “At this moment, there is nothing around. There is only the present moment, me, the race and the car”. And like the needle adorning the left side of his helmet, Esteban Ocon will set off hoping that the fate will finally turn in favor of his team. Like two years ago.
