2007 F1 Year – The Cool Things – Part 1 – Rubens’ Helmet

There are only days to go till the 2007 year is gone and over for good. Let’s have a look at some interesting things that came by during this year in Formula 1.

I start with the helmet of Rubens Barrichello. His usual red and white helmet is what all of us have known for years. So I was quite surprised to see him wearing a black one during the free practice in Monaco, during the 2007 Grand Prix.

But then I saw him an hour or so later during the qualifying and he was back wearing his usual white and red one

Well, it was the same helmet all the time, but painted with the thermochromic pigment. The cooler the weather (or Rubens’ head ), the darker the helmet. Here are few shots of Rubens I made during the 2007 season with different color of his thermochromic helmet:

In a cold temperature during wet Monaco practice the helmet color turned almost black. The red parts are visible only as shadows.

Warm sunshine in Shanghai – crisp white colour.

And something in between. The winds that brought the rain later on in Shanghai cooled the air and Rubens’ helmet darkened a bit.

Nick Heidfeld also used similar temperature sensitive paint on the top of his helmet this year.

To see all the 2007 Formula 1 Driver Helmets, click here or check the helmet tag on more helmet articles.