Originally posted by Kurt Angle
They wear the helmets to protect against fire. About 10 years ago Jos Verstappens car burst into flames in the pits whist being refuelled. Now they all wear fireproof suits and helmets.
Nobody was seriously hurt btw.
I remember that, it was at Hockenheim in 94. Noone was hurt, but there were a few people in the hospitality box above the Benetton pit who came close to being burnt.
I remember after he got out of the car, there was a picture of Verstappen in the pits, washing his face with some bottled water, it looked like his eyebrows had been singed off.
As for the pit crew helmets, yeah. they have to wear them nowadays, for the obvious safety reason. They had to start wearing fireproof overalls in 94 when they reintroduced refuelling, but before that fire, all they had to wea head wise, was a fireproof balaclava (sp?) and goggles.
Those Ferrari helmets aren\'t the same as race helmets, they are not cleared for racing/impact safety use, they are soley designed for retarding the effects that fire has on the human body. They are gay though, McLarens pitcrew helmets are a lot cooler, there are 2 types, 1 that sort of looks like a Darth Vader helmet, and another that is fully chromed, with a full face pull down visor, which is also chromed. Both look pretty smart.
