Champion special: The story behind Hauger’s helmet design

Go behind the visor with freshly crowned Formula 3 Champion Dennis Hauger, who talks us through the backstory of his helmet, which mixes the Red Bull colours with his design from go-karting.

“My very first design was similar to this one," said Hauger. "I’ve always tried to keep the same pattern and basic design. My first designed helmet was when I started international karting, so around 11 years old. We have then made small changes since then.

“The very first helmet that me and my dad made at home had a Simpson’s cartoon character on the back saying ‘kiss my a**.’ That was quite funny, but eventually, we had to change it. It was a bit too silly.

“We now work with a Red Bull designer and have been able to mix my design with theirs. Adrien Paviot is responsible for this beauty. He designs for a few of the Red Bull drivers. It is really cool to race with their colours, but it does mean that I have to perform and do the job out on track.

“There is a chequered flag that you can see, which was on my first helmet. I have always wanted to keep that. There is also a quote that you will see, that I always stand by. I have had the Norwegian flag on the top since my first helmet as well. I am proud of that.

“The helmet has a matte effect now. There has always been some form of matte on there, but not this much. I like it, although it is quite hard to clean.”