Son of a dragon: The story behind Felipe Drugovich's helmet design

Go behind the visor with MP Motorsport driver Felipe Drugovich to discuss the design of his helmet and delve into the backstory of where it all began.

The Brazilian discusses the meaning of his last name and how it is represented on his helmet. Drugovich also touches on the links to his family’s racing past and the reason behind the colour scheme.

“My first helmet design was really similar to the one that I currently have, although I don’t think that the red was on there yet, it was just the light and dark blue and some gold. My helmet has not changed much over the years, I have just added small details to make it look cooler. We try and make the helmet better each year, but not different.

“There is the dragon and the flag as well, as well as my logo on the side. I always like to have stars on my helmet as well because they represent my family. My uncles used to race in various categories in Brazil and they always had stars on their cars.

“The first design was drawn up when I was around eight-years-old at my uncle's company. We have some marketing people and I sat beside one of them and we looked at different designs and started photoshopping some stuff for my helmet.

“The first thing I wanted to ensure was on the helmet was the blue because that is my family colour. The dragon is both my family and the family company's symbol. I have added a glitter effect to the dragon this year, so it looks really good in the sun.

“For the people who do not know, Drugo means dragon and Vich means son, so my name means son of a dragon. Not everybody knows that, but it is why the dragon is the family symbol.

“There is also a catholic cross on the helmet: some divine protection for us. While, the design of the Brazilian flag is a little different, it's kind of a splash of different colours. I designed my logo which features on the side myself, it is pretty simple, but easy to recognise. The idea is that the D makes up part of the F and I think it looks quite stylish.

“The helmet is now designed by Veloz Racing, which is a company owned by Felipe Braga. He’s Brazilian but works in Italy. Previously, he only used to design the helmets, but he is painting them now as well.”