MONTREAL — Spectators at the Canadian Grand Prix might notice a driver sporting a helmet that looks a lot like home.
Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas said he wanted his special design for the race to represent what comes to mind when he thinks of Canada.
"Beavers, obviously, lumberjacks, ice hockey, maple syrup," Bottas, who drives for Alfa Romeo, said this week.
The helmet is light blue, with some green forest, lumberjacks chopping wood and, of course, beavers, carrying that wood to make a dam.
Australian Olympic cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, who's Bottas's girlfriend, designs his helmets. There are a few special edition models every year.
Cromwell, who studied fashion, said they decided on the Canadian Grand Prix because Bottas has always loved the country.
When it comes to helmet designs, she looks to make a deeper connection with the subject.
"When I think of each place that we do, I try to connect with a place," she said. "Don't just do Canada red and white, let's be a little more close to it.
"Valtteri being Finnish, there's a lot of similarities between Finland and Canada. And we know the forests and the nature and wood chopping and lumberjacks — so lumberjacks and beavers!"
As for hockey and maple syrup, Bottas said he needed to save some material for a future helmet.
"There's still years to come," he said. "For sure, one year there needs to be a hockey team."
Bottas, who took part in Saturday's qualifying ahead of Sunday's race, isn't the only driver shouting out Canada with his helmet this weekend.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is paying tribute to Canadian Formula One icon Gilles Villeneuve – the Montreal's track namesake.
Villeneuve, who won the inaugural Grand Prix in Montreal back in 1978, drove for Ferrari from 1978 until he died in crash during a qualifying session in Belgium in 1982.
Helmet designer Adrien Paviot created a replica of Villeneuve's Ferrari lid for Leclerc to sport throughout the weekend.
"There was no better place than Montreal to have it," Leclerc said in a statement provided by Ferrari. "He was such an incredible driver, such a special driver, so much passion he had for Ferrari and Formula One, and you could see it straight away when he was going out on the track."
Montreal-born driver Lance Stroll is putting a local spin of his own on his helmet.
The red and white getup is lined with QR codes pointing to his favourite spots in the area, including Lester's Deli for smoked meat sandwiches, SH Karting where he learned the sport and the Bell Centre – home of the Montreal Canadiens.
Stroll's helmet, race boots and tracksuit will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the Canadian Red Cross to help fight the wildfires that have blazed across the country this spring.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2023.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
