A modernised nod to family: Alexander Dunne on his helmet design

27 August 2025

Alexander Dunne has enjoyed a stellar season so far, and ahead of the racing resuming in Monza next month, we asked him to walk us through his distinctive crash helmet design.

The Rodin Motorsport and McLaren Development Driver reveals it began with his dad’s design, and over the years, the Irish talent has evolved it to become his own.

“My very first design I’d say was kind of similar to this. Basically, all my helmets are like an evolution from my dad's design when he raced. So my very first helmet design was a carbon copy of his. It was the exact same.

“Then I think as I kind of got older and progressed a bit more, I then kind of started adding my own design to it, you could say. So it's kind of like a fancy version of what my dad had pretty much.

“The main standout thing in my dad's helmet is this. So he used to have these two the lines go the two blue parts on the side, and then the lines through it.

“The colours vary. So, I think the lines on his helmet was yellow and red, and it's now orange on mine. I don't even know why it became orange. I've never properly talked about it with someone or done a design. I just said, ‘spice it up a little bit’.

“So, we've never had an in-depth conversation about it, and this is kind of what it has resulted in. I'd say this part is the main bit that's continued from my dad's helmet design, but it's kind of just evolved, and then the rest has just changed each year.

“Not a whole lot of thought really went into my design. As a kid, I always thought my dad's design was cool, and I always liked the idea of the simpler stuff. There are a lot of drivers where you can see their helmets look cool, but it's very like complex and there's a lot going on, and sometimes it's hard to spot individual drivers because the helmets always look the same.

“One thing I liked about my dad's was, as a kid always watching I'd be able to go ‘Yeah, that's him’. I knew what he looked like in the car and that’s what always stood out for me, and what I wanted. I like having a nice design, but it also being simple.

“I’d say the Irish flag is always nice. I've then got my logo ‘AD’ on the back and on the top. It's always nice to have the flag up where you're from on the helmet.

“It’s a Bell helmet, Rennat designed and paints it. This year, for my Monaco and FP1 helmet, I got it designed by MDM, which is pretty cool. It stands out and is easy to see, seems to fit the McLaren colours, which wasn’t on purpose, even if it’s not exactly the papaya orange, but it’s not a million miles away.

“I've always asked for it to be spiced up a little bit. And in the last two years, I've kind of just been happy with my design, so I've asked to just keep it the same. I think realistically, I probably won’t be changing it too much from now on.

“I think one special design that I spoke to about my dad earlier in the year, and I may be getting ahead of myself, but I think if I win the Championship before the last round, then I'd have one for then.

“But I think that's going to be very difficult, because points are very close, but I think if I was to have another one this year specifically, it would be for that reason. I think don't think I'd have it have it in particular one otherwise.”