Red Bull legend sickened by Silverstone theft: 'You've deprived the kids'

Calum Nicholas, Red Bull Racing, generic, 2023, Zandvoort — Photo: © IMAGO

British Grand Prix

Red Bull legend sickened by Silverstone theft: 'You've deprived the kids'

One Red Bull star is calling for help after helmets were stolen

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 8 July 2026 09:45 Updated: 09:52

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A Red Bull representative has issued a plea to F1 fans who attended the British Grand Prix last weekend to be on the lookout for stolen Max Verstappen helmets.

Calum Nicholas was previously a mechanic for the Red Bull F1 team and became known as one of the most famous faces in the garage after appearing in the hit Netflix docuseries, Drive to Survive.

In 2025 however, Nicholas made the move from senior power unit assembly technician to become an ambassador for Red Bull, bringing an end to his 10-year stint of working with the team and in the garage alongside Verstappen.

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Since switching over to his brand ambassador role, Nicholas has become a prominent public figure for the energy drink giants, releasing a book titled Life in the Pitlane shortly after his exit from the Red Bull garage.

He also dedicates a large chunk of his life to the Red Bull STEMx initiative, which sees he and other ambassadors tour a mobile classroom around schools in the UK with the hope of promoting and educating children from underprivileged backgrounds on the career options in F1.

Thanks to the initiative, young children can be introduced to the engineering, physics, maths, and mechanics involved in F1, and even get the chance to try on replica helmets during the Red Bull STEMx visits.

But sadly at last weekend's event in Silverstone, two of the helmets which are replicas of Verstappen's F1 headwear were stolen.

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Nicholas warns F1 replica helmet thief: 'You're on CCTV'

After a historic weekend for British motorsport that saw a record-breaking fan attendance, Nicholas took to social media to share the sad news that the Red Bull STEMx initiative had been the victims of theft in Silverstone.

On 'X' he wrote: "So, Silverstone…To the thieves that decided to steal the helmets from the Red Bull STEMx van, just know that you’ve deprived the kids from the schools it’s due to visit this summer, as they cannot be replaced in time.

"Also worth noting that the whole thing is on CCTV, so the clock is ticking, probably worth returning them."

The former F1 mechanic then shared images of the missing helmets, revealing via his Instagram story that a couple of thousand pounds worth of kit had been stolen.

He also confirmed the theft had been reported to the local authorities and the CCTV footage has been passed on, issuing a plea to anyone who attended Silverstone to come forward if they have any helpful information about the whereabouts of the helmets.