Help Nico find his helmet.

What's this thing worth anyway?

 

Probably a good few thousand for a 3 time race winner, but because it's hot (stolen) it would have to be sold for next to nothing possibly to a fence and then to a hidden client in another country that will not have any extradition of stolen property laws in common with a resident of Monaco (where Nico resides). So, what's the point of stealing a helmet when it's always going to be an item that must be kept hidden anyway.

I would think Nico has a new helmet every couple races anyway...... not that stealing is ever justified.

 

Didn't he lose a hemet while at Williams a few years back? I remember a video he made asking to get it back.

 

I don't think that's the case: Whoever got it, sold it for a good buck and the collector has it probably proudly sitting in his F1 collection.

Think about it: There is a gazillion replica helmets out there and if push came to shove you could always claim it is not the real deal. Impossible to prove otherwise.

As for Nico making a drama out of it: Grow up pal. Real racers give their helmets away (Alesi) or hand them over to auction houses to sell them for charity (MS).

I once was invited to the private collection of a famous and insanely rich person and he showed me a few of the items he had: This wasn't petty stuff (like a F1 helmet) but items you'd normally find in the Smithsonian on a prominent place. Given his millions (billions) of $ I have no doubt the items were real and the stories how he got them true. So not for a minute do I think that stolen items have a hard time finding a buyer. Not for a moment. Just follow the art and antiquities world a bit and you quickly get very disillusioned. Also by so called institution with a reputation (aka museums): They all look the other way if they can get their hands on the latest and greatest item.

The Schuberth helmet was registered with the Number R-NR 074/02-13. The SNELL-Label is ST 270141. FIA label gold: AH04248. FIA Label white: Nr. 134

Thanks for that info, Nico. Now the thief can authenticate the helmet as real and any replica helmet manufacturers know now what to put on their labels to make them look real.

 

LOL true enuff.

 

There's a vid from 2009 brazil (YouTube search rosberg lost helmet)...he has trouble hanging on to these things!

 

Bolo: German hipster, possibly in a Harlem Shake video

 

If his dad didn't wear it, who would want it?

 

A "retail" Schuberth SF1 is about $8,000. Add to that custom fitting ($500), helmet wiring ($400), custom paint ($1500?).....just for the helmet. "Collector value" you decide....

Given they have a picture of the guy, and F1 paddocks have plenty of video security and anyone who gets access passes usually has to register with proof of ID (at least, I did), it shouldn't be hard to figure out who this guy is.

 

I would have thought that the bigger concern should be as to how easily this guy gained access to what should have been a secure area!

 

+1

I still don't get why the uproar over the stolen helmet: Top drivers keep their helmet for a couple races at most before they use a new one. Nico has probably 40 helmets per season, so why bother if one gets stolen?

 

Drivers can also be very superstitious though! - Could it be a case that Nico felt that this helmet was lucky for him?

 

Hamilton took it.

 

I think this helmet is quite defective then.

 

+1

Kimi on the question...

The helmet has a special meaning for many drivers. How important is it to you?

It protects my head.

Do you have any special rituals when the helmet is concerned like many have?

I wipe it so that I can see better.



Cheers,
Ian

 

Back in the day they said Schumacher's helmet's were something like $40,000 a piece. If I had Nico's $40,000 helmet, I would spray it flat black and use it (if I had a little head)

 

Sorry, truly, but I simply cannot stand people who justify theft like you. If having money and a high-profile job is a reason you a) can have your property taken and b) can't ask for help finding a thief, then your moral compass is massively flawed.

The reality is that these helmets cost *at least* $10k apiece and the notion that a driver goes through "40" a season is simply preposterous. It's his property, someone stole it and I think he's more than entitled to ask for a little help identifying the scum who took it.

 

Who cares? I'm sure he and Ham have a couple more all painted black for when they are the thieves.

 

Exactly; who knows it may have been a gift from parents/ etc..... someone stole his personal items. Pretty sad that a guy is getting ripped for that.
Kevin

 

He is not a guy. He is one of the ten best paid F1 drivers on the grid. His MB salary alone exceeds 10 mio US per year. And that's before sponsorship deals.

I bet the helmet was discounted or even free from Shuberth for all the deals they get. They offer Nico replica helmets for fans, reason enough to give him them for free.

And a F1 driver goes through about 20 helmets per year anyway (my earlier number of 40 was off). Hardly a personal item.

The thing with Nico is it seems that he collects all his helmets from all races.

A bit narcicistic if you ask me. But I'm certain the missing helmet wasn't an irreplaceable gift from his parents.

 

So this justifies the fact the he can't ask for help in getting stolen property back????

 

Don't make it sound so dramatic. Given his wealth this is like you or I going public over a baseball cap we lost.

 

No, he's perfectly entitled to ask for his property back!

However, I think you're completely missing the point that Tifosi12 is making:

Helmets are pretty much a consumable item to F1 drivers!

At each race they'll have a minimum of 3+ helmets available to use just in case, and most of the drivers give their helmets away on a regular basis to suppliers, charities, friends etc., etc (once all the radio equipment has been removed!), because after a couple of races their pretty much unusable any more (usually due to the amount of sweat inside them!). They're also replaced straight away if there's any sign of any damage to them whatsoever.

Let's put it this way, I don't recall Nico having to drive bareheaded with a set of borrowed goggles on in any races due to this helmet going missing!

For some drivers, certain helmets do hold an emotional attachment for them as they're linked to a race win or special event, but on the whole, a helmet is simply just another tool of the job.

That doesn't mean that Helmets should be fair game to anyone who can get access to them, but the theft of this helmet didn't exactly stop Nico racing did it? - Now had that of happened, then I'd better understand why he'd be so desperate to get it back!

 

Thanks for explaining it so well, exactly my thoughts.

To put it differently: if this had been the helmet he won his first race with or something bigger like eg his F1 car itself I would definitely not be so casual.