Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez has been racing in Formula 1 since 2011. In that time he’s had countless different helmet designs and I’m worried that he’s running out of ideas.
So I’m going to help him out and design some new helmets for him. Well technically I’m not, but AI is.
The results are pretty damn cool.
Perez' real helmets
In 13 years of competing at the top level of motorsport, Sergio Perez has raced for numerous different teams including Sauber, Force India, Racing Point, McLaren and Red Bull.
That means his helmet designs have changed dramatically over the years.
In the early days of Force India he had a pretty bright lid.
When he was racing for Racing Point the team’s main sponsor was BWT. They had a bold and unmistakable pink and white colour scheme. His helmet design matched pretty closely.
New helmet of @SChecoPerez @RacingPointF1.#perez #sergio #mexico #f1 #newhelmet #racingpoint #forceindia pic.twitter.com/WGCFrnSKNu
— F1 Helmets (@F1HLM) February 19, 2019
Since he joined Red Bull his helmet designs have been dominated by logos from the energy drink company. But he has had specific one-off designs for individual races.
Here’s his helmet design from the 2022 Mexican Grand Prix, his home race. It incorporates a number of details specfic to his home country which you can pick out if you look closely.
Helmet design of Sergio Perez for the #MexicanGP
— F1 Helmets (@F1HLM) October 26, 2022
🎨 MDM Designs / JMD Helmets#sp11 #checoperez #perez #redbull #f1 #formula11 pic.twitter.com/DLFVyIbEAj
AI helmet designs
Checo’s had countless different helmet designs, schemes and themes over the years. The range of teams that he’s driven for has meant that some of his designs have changed dramatically over his career.
Now Checo’s stuck in a bit of a Red-Bull rut, so I want to give him some helmet inspiration.
I’ve asked AI to come up with different designs for Perez’s helmet. It has not left us disappointed.
This first design above is pretty nice. No big Red Bull branding or logos, instead a distinct Mexican colour scheme that looks very racey.
Nice to see Checo written on the sun strip at the top of the visor, and the chequered flag is a cool touch.
I’m not sure if the 3D paint streaks off the back of the helmet will pass FIA safety standards, but they look fast.
AI has taken a step back in time for this design, taking its inspiration from when Checo was at Racing Point.
But if he was still there, this would be a very very cool design to go with. There’s plenty of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) themed skulls and flowers, plus a nice Mexican ‘tash at the front of the helmet. I’m a big fan.
This is definitely an iteration of the first design, and it’s a good one.
There’s some subtle Red Bull branding to keep his current team happy, plus we’ve also got Checo’s motto ‘It’s Checo time’ on the sun strip. It’s accompanied by strong Mexican flag colours of red white and green.
This is a pretty cool design and definitely could be a contender for one of Checho’s real life future helmets.
AI is definitely on a mission to keep ticking off those Mexican stereotypes, and there’s not many stronger than the sombrero.
Not content with painting an image of a sombrero on the lid, we’ve actually got the rim of one around the top of the helmet.
If helmet accessories were allowed then this would undoubtedly be one of the very best. But unfortunately I don’t think it will pass safety tests, nor do much good for aerodyanmics.
Another design, another Mexican stereotype ticked off. This time it’s the pinata on the side of the helmet.
Apart from that looking slightly out of place, this is actually a pretty good design. Nice to see Checo’s motto is still on the visor.
Well it appears that in AI’s world Red Bull have branched out from just making energy drinks and turned their hand to producing tequila, another of Mexico’s most popular exports.
That, the Golden Eagle off the Mexican flag, and a strong red white and green colour scheme means that there’s no mistaking which country this driver is from.
Now this is cool. Very cool actually.
AI’s gone heavy on the Day of the Dead theme with skulls and flowers adorning the helmet almost completely. It’s gone a little less heavy on writing Red Bull correctly, but at least the logo’s there.
And Checo’s motto on the top of the helmet is even better than on the visor. I like this design a lot.
Well it’s really thrown the kitchen sink at this one. Let’s count the Mexican sterotypes; I see tequila, tacos, burritos, salsa, sombreros, skulls and a pinata. Plus some 3D flowers that are a nice touch, but probably create a bit of drag which will slow poor Sergio down.
This one’s a little too busy and a little too garish for my liking.
Ok this is good. Very good. I LOVE the skull, teeth and moustache at the front of the helmet and the rest of the Day of the Dead theme.
Even the Red Bull logo doesn’t look out of place with the purple flowers surrounding the yellow sphere.
Yes it’s a very busy design and there’s a lot going on, including double sun strips on the top of the visor, but it’s a very cool lid.
Now we’re talking. This is definitely my favourite helmet design of them all.
The huge moustache at the front is awesome and I’m a big fan of the white base colour for the whole helmet. The Day of the Dead skulls and flowers look awesome, especially as they look hand-drawn with a marker pen on the white background.
If Checo needs a design for the Mexican Grand Prix this year, then this could well be it.