Why Russell has a Montoya-inspired helmet in China

George Russell has explained the thinking behind his half-and-half one-off helmet design for the Chinese Grand Prix, which takes inspiration from former Williams racer Juan Pablo Montoya. Many drivers have special designs for the 1000th World Championship race, having been given free reign by the FIA.

Half of Russell's lid will contain his current design, with the other half taking inspiration from Colombian Montoya, winner of seven grands prix between 2001-2006.

Montoya made a splash after debuting for Williams, pushing Michael Schumacher hard in his rookie season, enough to make an impression on a young Russell, and his brother, it transpires.

"When I first started karting I copied the helmet of my brother when he was karting before, and it was inspired from the helmet of Montoya," Russell explained.

So, in honour of @F1 reaching 1000 races, this weekend's lid is...

Half my @jpmontoya inspired design from where it all began back in 2006 👈

Half my current GR63 design from 2019 🙌

Let me know what you think! 😉#F1 #ChineseGP 🇨🇳 @WilliamsRacing #Race1000 pic.twitter.com/a9fwY7eHC9

— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) April 11, 2019

"So I decided it would be pretty cool. As Montoya's a Williams legend - he's also one of my favourite F1 drivers of all time, just his character and the way he approached the racing, everything, he was a driver you would enjoy watching.

"So I thought it would be something nice to go half-half. I met him once, last year, hopefully he likes it."

Russell's former Formula 2 rival and fellow 2019 F1 rookie Alexander Albon will also have a special tribute on his helmet design.

Albon will pay tribute to Prince Bira, the only other driver to previously race in F1 under the Thai flag.

Mixing it up a bit for #Race1000 🇹🇭@alex_albon will be paying tribute to Prince Bira - the only other Thai driver in F1 history - this weekend with a special one-off helmet #ChineseGP 🇨🇳 #F1 pic.twitter.com/av6uwfcydJ

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 11, 2019

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