Why Hamilton changed helmet mid-race in Monaco

Hamilton, Monaco, Qualifying, 2022 — Photo: © LAT Images

Lewis Hamilton

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Why Hamilton changed helmet mid-race in Monaco

Hamilton used two different designs in the race

Ewan Gale

Wednesday 1 June 2022 15:45

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Lewis Hamilton's mid-race change from a white to a yellow helmet in Monaco was due to the differing visors equipped with each, Mercedes has explained.

The seven-time F1 champion sported a predominantly white helmet that features tints of purple as a nod to his favourite crystal, the amethyst, over the weekend in Monaco.

But during the red-flag period triggered by Mick Schumacher's car-splitting crash at La Piscine, Hamilton reverted to his luminous yellow crash helmet for the final stint of the race.

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Detailing why the swap was made, Mercedes director of trackside engineering Andrew Shovlin said: “In those very dark wet conditions at the start of the race, they are running a clear visor and that gives them the best visibility in the spray.

"When you get into the dry race, also the sun is a lot lower in the sky and the end of the race was near six o’clock in the evening.

"He then moved to a tinted visor because it gives you better visibility, better contrast but also you avoid getting the sun in your eyes.”

Mercedes reveal cost of Hamilton damage

Hamilton made contact with Esteban Ocon's Alpine during the race, with the Frenchman handed a five-second penalty for his role in the incident.

Asked how much the damage cost Hamilton, Shovlin replied: "Well, it wasn’t too big a number.

"Looking at the data we get off the car, it was around one to two-tenths of a second.

"So not large and conveniently the red flag allows us to repair any accident damage, so we could swap that front wing without actually having any time penalty for doing the work during a pit stop.

"More pleasing was that was the only damage we had over the course of the Monaco weekend.

"So, a really good job by both drivers to bring the cars home more or less intact.”