Max Chilton Has the Coolest Helmet for This Year's Indy 500
It's too early to tell whether Max Chilton will win the Indianapolis 500 later this month, but it's safe to say the Brit’s helmet is leading the field of 33 drivers in their informal livery competition.
Unveiled prior to the opening day of practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the ex-Formula 1 driver's helmet is a 230-mph piece of art, the masterwork of his longtime helmet painter.
"I wish I could say it was all my own work, but I had nothing to do with it," the Carlin Racing IndyCar driver told Road & Track. "It was all my helmet painter in the UK, Jason Fowler. I think he quite enjoys working with me, because on the 500, I basically just give him free reign, and every year he comes up with something which I love. And he's a true artist; when you let an artist have free flow, they always come up with their best work."
In their early discussions, Chilton pointed to the $3 million BorgWarner trophy that bears the likeness of every Indy 500 winner since the inaugural 1911 race as a possible source of inspiration for Fowler. The jaw-dropping helmet was intended for use in the No. 59 Gallagher Chevy at the 2019 Indy 500, but after the team struggled and failed to qualify with two of its three entries, Chilton was forced to wait until 2020 to give the helmet its proper introduction to the Brickyard.
"So I said to Jason, 'Just come out with something you like, maybe the BorgWarner would be a nice one this year." He added. "And he surprised me with this last year. It's quite weird as well, because it's the first 500 helmet he's done for me without putting a year on it, so maybe he just knew I wasn't going to qualify last year. And it's worked perfectly to be able to use it this year. So he also seems a bit psychic, and knew I wasn't going to qualify last year."
Fowler's process of replicating the look and feel of the BorgWarner trophy was nothing short of spectacular.
"It's a special paint; it's all chrome," Chilton explained. "He's done a lot of chrome helmets for me in the past, because I've used them for probably 15-plus years now, and all my first helmets were chromed. But the thing which is special about this is it's texturized. So while it looks 3D, it actually is 3D. If you run your fingers across the faces, and all the names, and the speeds, all the graphics are actually 3D. God only knows how he actually did it. I know he spent hundreds of hours on it, and that's, I think, why people have fallen in love with it. So hopefully I can do it justice, and it can go into the IMS museum once I win."
Had Chilton used the helmet in last year’s Indy 500, Fowler's masterpiece would have been a beaten mess after being struck by sand, rocks, and debris while following others cars throughout the 200-lap contest. But with IndyCar’s new aeroscreen safety device installed for 2020, drivers have a bulletproof shield to divert debris over and around the cockpit, leaving helmets unblemished.
"I quite liked the battered look after the race, but I think he knew he had put so many man hours into this one, he wanted to preserve it," Chilton added. "Obviously, this year, we don't need that. So, it's fully protected, and now it's got the aeroscreen around it. Marco Andretti commented, 'I love it, but it looks about 60 pounds!' So it's probably slightly heavier [with all the chrome], but I think it's well worth it."
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