Cem Bölükbasi on how he created his first helmet

They say that you always remember you first painted helmet, and that’s especially true for Cem Bölükbaşı, who only got his, this season.

We spoke to the Charouz Racing System driver, who discusses the Turkish influences behind the design and explains why receiving it was such an exciting moment.

“My first helmet looked exactly like this one because this is my first painted helmet… Better late than never!

“I haven't had a very long racing career and the first helmet that I used was borrowed from a friend. This is the first helmet that I have used that actually belongs to me, and I only had it painted just before the start of the season.

“The design was done by Taylan Gerem, who is a Turkish Designer. The painting was then done by Stilo, who did a great job creating a chrome helmet at such short notice. I am really happy with it and very excited to have my own painted helmet.

“I really wanted something shiny. I went for shiny red chrome. Blue, white and red are probably my three favourite colours, which is handy because it matches my teams’ colours.

“The base design was done by a friend of mine. We added some lines on there, we also added the evil eye, which is there to guard me against bad luck. That is on my car and my suit as well as my helmet. I have the Turkish flag on there too, of course.

“It feels pretty special to be the first Turkish driver, but more I don't want to be the only Turkish driver, so I would love to help somebody become the second Turkish driver in Formula 2. I love the Turkish support and am really grateful for the support. I hope that the support continues to grow and hope that we can see more drivers on the grid.

“I have my logo on top and my name and my number on the back. My logo was designed by another friend of mine around two years ago and I think it suits the top of the helmet, so we didn't want to change anything. It looks perfect to me.”