Formula 1: The explanation for Daniil Kvyat’s helmet rejection is laughable

The explanation for why Daniil Kvyat’s helmet design was rejected for his home Formula 1 race, the Russian Grand Prix, was nothing shy of laughable.

Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat wanted to wear a helmet with a special design for his past Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom.

This 53-lap race around the 18-turn, 3.634-mile (5.848-kilometer) Sochi Autodrom road course in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia is Kvyat’s home Formula 1 race, and he had not competed in it since the 2017 season, as he did not have a ride for the 2018 season.

In fact, it was confirmed during last year’s Russian Grand Prix race weekend that he would be returning to Toro Rosso for the 2019 season.

But this special helmet design, which was a white, blue and red color scheme that served as a nod to the Russian flag, was rejected.

Formula 1 race director Michael Masi has now explained why, and the reasons he issued for this rejection were quite laughable to say the very least, especially considering the fact that completely noncontroversial helmet designs are actually deemed to be of the least bit of concern.

Here is what Masi had to say about the matter, according to Motorsport.

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"“I don’t think that Kvyat was picked out. The question was asked, if the helmet design is substantially similar. And the response was: ‘No, it’s not.’ The team asked me if the design was in my view substantially similar. Which is I think the wording in the regulation.”"

He stated that Kvyat wasn’t “picked out”, yet several other drivers, including Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, have gone with multiple different helmet designs and multiple different colors throughout the season. Kvyat had only used one different design up until making his request for the Russian Grand Prix when he did so in the Italian Grand Prix. He usually races with a predominantly blue helmet with red and white, and his helmet was more red than it was blue for this race.

Masi continued, answering a question about whether or not everyone requests to use different designs on their helmets beforehand.

"“Not necessarily. Generally those that ask get a response either one way or the other.”"

Discussing Verstappen, Masi continued.

"“No, the team has not sent me a request.”"

So it’s better to just go ahead and break what is supposedly a “regulation” than ask to get permission?

What a joke.

He continued.

"“I said to the drivers on Friday night ‘yes, its something that we’ll look at’, but there are number of inputs. It’s not just the FIA, it’s the FIA and the F1 group. We’ve also got at the end the day you guys, broadcast media. It’s funny talking to some of the commentators about it. They said the reason why it was there is because of us, because when we’re looking down we know who is in the car.”"

Really? Race broadcasters get the drivers wrong in the cars anyway — and not just in Formula 1.

Next.

"“If we’ve got someone changing helmets all the time, we actually got to think and look twice and see who it is, when we’re doing a live television broadcast. So there were various reasons why it was brought in, and it’s one of those we’ve already spoken about. We discussed it on Friday night, and said let’s have a look at it."

This is 2019, not 1966.

Yes, helmets can help distinguish one teammate from another, but so can (a) live timing and scoring, (b) car numbers, (c) taking the two seconds to look at the drivers’ helmets beforehand, and best (and most simple) of all, (d) actually following along with the race.

Helmet designs are not the be-all and end-all of knowing what is going on in a Formula 1 race.

Regarding whether or not the same standard that was applied to Kvyat will be applied in the future, Masi stated the following.

"“At the end of the day, it would require a regulation change. [At the moment] there is your one joker a year, that you’re allowed, and when the question is asked, the response is relatively black and white.”"

“It would require a regulation change” for a driver to alter his helmet design more than once a year.

Sure.

Translated from “fake news”, it would require the five people in the world who actually care enough to reject a different helmet design to simply not doing anything about a driver wearing said different helmet design.

According to Motorsport, no driver has been called up over using a different design beyond his “one joker”. But here is what Masi had to say regarding if this were to change.

"“I don’t apply the penalties, I’d refer it to the stewards. If something came up, I’d have to refer it to the stewards. And it would be their determination of what would or wouldn’t happen.”"

Give me a break.

What a waste of time that would be. That is kindergarten-level (no offense to the kindergarteners out there, of whom most are more reasonable than this) tattletaling.

With all things considered, Kvyat really should have gone ahead and worn the helmet anyway. Yes, he probably would have been penalized, but that would have been the best-case scenario for him, as it would only make the FIA look worse for actually caring that his helmet was more white and less blue than it usually is.

This isn’t a case of a particular helmet being used for safety reasons. This isn’t Kvyat threatening to retire from Formula 1 over not being able to wear his old helmet like Antonio Brown of the NFL did just a few months ago.

This is about nothing more than a design and a slight alteration in artwork.

Will this helmet design “regulation” in Formula 1 become more relaxed in the near future? Hopefully the FIA can find more important things to worry about, because they certainly exist.