Inspired by his father with a tribute to a legend: Colton Herta on his 2026 Helmet Design

Colton Herta is hard to miss out on track, with his striking helmet one that has caught the eye of many fans around the world and those in the paddock.

Recently, we caught up with the Hitech driver to talk about the design and the inspiration, and he revealed all…

TRIBUTE TO A MOTORSPORT LEGEND

“So my helmet design, it was pretty easy because it's very similar to my fathers. So that's kind of what the basis is.

“There are little updates to it to modernise it a little bit from when he was driving in the '90s, but still I think if you look at it side-by-side, the main kind of features are still there. Something that kind of stands out to me or something I've done is the 98 with The Union Jack.

“The 98 with the Union Jack on the back is basically to pay respects and in remembrance for Dan Wheldon in the best way that I like to remember him, which is winning the Indy 500 in 2011, driving the 98.

“So that's why. I have no ties to the UK, but that's why I run a Union Jack on my helmet.

“I would say him and Dario Franchitti were two of my favourites. Tony Kanaan was up there also, I really liked him. But those were guys that were teammates with my dad when I was growing up.

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“A lot of people called it the super team because there was him, Dario, Tony, and Dan. So obviously they had a lot of impact on my life growing up and going to the racetrack. So I was always drawn to cheering for them, especially Dan.

“It was also super cool when he came back and won the Indy 500 for my dad's team in 2011, his last win. So it was super, super cool, and now it's exciting to watch Susie, his wife, and her boys race in Europe and in the US.

“So it's a cool thing, and I feel very very honoured to be able to run it.

BUILDING ON THE ORIGINAL DESIGN

“I have no clue why this was my dad’s design to be honest. I think the colours are super close to representing like the US flag, obviously with the red, white, and blue. But initially, the colours weren't like this, they were a little bit lighter.

“I changed the trim often on my helmet, so it's not always white. So it's not to mimic the American flag, but that's just how it's worked out. I think some of the stuff like the stars represent it.

“I've always been a fan of honeycomb, but it’s kind of gotten outdated, the honeycomb stuff, so I don't really do it anymore, but you can see a little bit on the back.

“But it's a great design. I've had to add some stuff like the front label here to get Cadillac on there as well. It is a little more hectic. I do like a simpler design, but I think it looks really good.”

A SPECIAL HELMET?

“I did a special helmet for Nashville in 2024, the season finale. I ended up winning that race actually, but it was a complete colour change.

“I think it matched the race car, so it was black, yellow, grey, and white. A much darker helmet, and I think that looked great.

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“I would love to do something like that. Obviously, if I drive for Cadillac one day I'll have to do something similar to match the car at some races, but then for the main thing I'm not really a guy that likes to change his helmet design all the time and run special helmets a lot.

“So maybe just a few, but for the most part, I like my design and I kind of like the heritage behind it.”