The word “iconic” is over-used, but Ayrton Senna’s distinctive helmet design deserved that description even before his untimely death 30 years ago.
The day-glo yellow colour, which none of his adversaries could fail to spot stalking them in their mirrors, paired with the twin stripes identifying his beloved Brazilian homeland, was already one of F1’s most instantly identifiable designs.
The passage of time has made that even more apparent today. Surely no driver’s graphics have appeared so often on the heads of so many other competitors. And not merely in F1, but in other forms of motor sport and other sporting disciplines besides.
This weekend at Imola, as F1 commemorates him once more, Pierre Gasly will compete using Senna’s helmet livery. He has already done so, in 2020, making him one of many sportspeople who have taken to the field of play bearing the colours of the late three-times champion.
Senna’s design has been carried at the Indianapolis 500, the Giro d’Italia and the pitch of his favourite football team Corinthians – making it arguably the motor recognised sporting helmet in the world.
Formula 1
Senna raced in front of his home crowd for the final time in the season-opening race of 1994. Just five weeks later he was dead.
When F1 returned to Senna’s home city for the start of the next season, Rubens Barrichello was one of his three compatriots on the grid. The 22-year-old, embarking on his third season of F1, had been one of the pallbearers at Senna’s funeral.
At a time when drivers seldom varied their helmet designs, Barrichello’s decision to incorporate Senna’s design into his helmet made an impact. The race brought little reward, however, as he retired from 12th place on the 17th lap. Barrichello, who went on to win 11 grands prix, later admitted he put himself under too much pressure to emulate Senna’s success early in his career.
Senna’s nephew Bruno made a late start to his career in motorsport as his family were reluctant to let him race. However he reached F1 with struggling newcomers HRT in 2010, then drove for two of his uncle’s former teams: Renault (who Senna drove for when they were Toleman) and Williams.
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In 2019 Bruno Senna demonstrated a McLaren MP4/1, which his uncle used to win his first world championship in 1988.
The 2019 season marked the 25th anniversary of Senna’s death. Brazilian driver Pietro Fittipaldi, who made his grand prix debut the following year, wore a Senna tribute helmet for another demonstration run that weekend.
Even the television helicopter joined in the tributes at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix:
Imola disappeared from the F1 calendar after 2006, but returned unexpectedly 14 years later due to the upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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For the majority of drivers, this was the first time they had raced F1 cars at the track now forever associated with Senna’s death. Gasly wore a tribute in honour of him, which also incorporated references to two of his own compatriots who had died following crashes: Jules Bianchi, in 2015, and Anthoine Hubert the year before.
The necessity of carrying the logo of his AlphaTauri team obscured the distinctive stripes on Gasly’s 2020 helmet. However he plans to make a similar tribute again this weekend and his latest helmet, which he wore when he recently drove Senna’s first Formula 1 car, is closer in style to the original.
Sebastian Vettel will also take part in the commemorations at Imola, taking to the track in his McLaren MP4/8 – the last of that team’s cars Senna drove. Expect him to appear in the Senna-styled helmet he wore when he drove the car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year.
Hamilton’s Senna helmets
No driver who raced in F1 after Senna has been bound more closely to his legacy than Lewis Hamilton. His original yellow helmet colour was similar to that of his hero, and Hamilton arrived in F1 with McLaren, whose cars carried Senna to all three of his world championships.
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Hamilton has worn Senna tribute helmets at several Brazilian grands prix. He also received an original Senna helmet at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2017, in recognition of his 65th career pole position which matched Senna’s tally.
Other motorsport
Senna inspired some drivers even before his death. Eddie Irvine styled his helmet on Senna while racing in Formula 3000, four years before he arrived in F1.
When Irvine made his debut, at Suzuka in 1993 (by which time he’d changed his design), he quickly learned how uncompromising Senna could be. He angered the race winner by un-lapping himself at one stage, and an argument over the incident between the pair ended with Senna punching Irvine.
More recently, other drivers in junior series have acknowledged Senna on their helmets without using his design. Brazilians Felipe Drugovich and Gabriel Bortoleto did so in 2022 at Monaco, a track synonymous with Senna’s legacy, where he scored a record six victories.
Senna’s design has appeared outside F1 as well, including at some of the world’s most prestigious races.
IndyCar driver Simon Pagenaud marked the 20th anniversary of Senna’s death in 2014 by wearing this replica of his helmet at the Indianapolis 500. Although Senna never raced in IndyCar, he did test a Penske car driven by compatriot Emerson Fittipaldi in 1993.
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Pagenaud’s helmet was produced with the blessing of Senna’s family and auctioned after the race to raise money for the Senna Institute. He carried it to 12th place in the race.
Senna’s helmet has also been seen in America’s enormously popular NASCAR series. Ty Gibbs wore this design in 2021.
The 30th anniversary of Senna’s passing occured on May 1st this year, 10 days after the World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Imola. United Autosports McLaren GT3 driver Nicolas Costa produced an unusual interpretation of the Senna helmet design.
Other sports
Senna’s memory has even inspired tributes in sporting competitions beyond the world of motor racing. Corinthians, the Sao Paulo football club Senna supported, marked the 20th anniversary of his death by wearing replicas of his helmet before a match.
The same year Brazilian cyclist Murilo Fischer commemorated Senna during the Giro d’Italia cycle race which included a stage at Imola. He put Senna’s colours and logo on his cycling helmet.
Now 30 years on from his death, a generation of athletes have arrived and entered competition since then. But even those who never had the chance to see Senna race continue to draw inspiration from him and commemorate his memory. The striking simplicity of his three-colour helmet design has become the clearest sign of that.
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Formula 1
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