Dipl. Ing. Peter Bürger from Germany is the „helmet-man“ in Formula One. He is Arai`s F1 coordinator and takes care of the helmets of the japanese manufacturer drivers since more than 20 years. He maintained the helmets of more than 75 F1 drivers, who have won over 150 GP`s and 9 World Drivers Championships between them… impressive numbers!  TSS: Peter, you take care of the clients of your employer, the Arai helmet company, at all F1 GP`s around the world. How did you get in contact with motorsport? PB: I started karting as a hobby in the mid-eighties, in the end with pretty good success as my best result was a fourth place in the European championship in 1991 against rivals like Jos Verstappen or Giancarlo Fisichella! That was not bad, but also not good enough to continue in higher leagues. Right from my early days in karting, I was in contact with Arai. I bought their helmets and also sold them to other drivers. When I realized that I was not good enough for a professional career as a driver, Arai asked me to be their man on the spot, taking care of the helmets, providing spare parts or doing a repair service with visors etc. I accepted their offer and I also started my own company “Point Racing”, selling racing gear and equipment for drivers and riders. First I did this on a national level with minor motorsport classes, but it really took off in 1997. TSS: What happened? PB: As a consequence  of a shortage of staff, Arai offered me the job to take care of their clients in F1. This was in mid-january and they gave me one week to think about. I accepted, but it was a jump into the cold water… my job began at the tests in Barcelona and the Australian GP in Melbourne in march was my first F1 GP – Hockenheim 2019 is GP no. 410! TSS: Your job requires a lot of travelling. PB: Yes, I spend a huge amount of time on planes and hotel rooms around world. But if you want to work in F1, you have to accept this. We all in the F1 circus are pretty well payed and we see a lot of the world, but we also have restrictions in another parts of life, like family, friends etc. – I always say: “You have to stand F1”… TSS: You are very close to your clients, up to their privacy. PB: Oh yes, it is sometimes a very delicate business, as I am one of only very few people who sees F1 drivers in their underwear, hahaha… when they get a final massage before the race and I have to fix an issue on their helmet... TSS: What issues are you talking about? PB: For example a last minute visor change or things like that. Nowadays, helmet components don`t break anymore, but I have to keep them in perfect shape. A driver has to rely to a 100% on his equipment, and I am responsible that he can concentrate on his job and not worry about an issue with his helmet while driving. I have to give him the feeling, the helmet is absolutely safe!The helmet is the only personal thing of a driver, everything else belongs to the team. TSS: How does a preparation for a race weekend look like for you? PB: I come to the race track and first thing I do is check the condition of the helmets. A driver normally has three identical helmets available for a race weekend. For a whole season, Sebastian Vettel for example uses from 10 to 15 helmets. What changes during the weekend, is only the visors, depending on weather and visibilty. The visors make a really big difference, especially the ones for wet weather. They have an antimist glazing with an airspace in between the layers – so fogging is not an issue anymore with modern helmets! TSS: What about the safety features like the Zylon visor panel on the upperside of the visor which was made mandatory a few years ago after Felipe Massa`s accident in Hungary? PB: The panel has now disappeared again, because the shell of the helmet has to be made to a new standard which is called “ABP”, which stands for Advanced Ballistic Protection. I give you a few numbers: a steel projectile weighing 5 grams is shot onto the visor with a speed of 620km/h. The same spot of the visor will then be heated with a flame by 790 degrees centigrade for 45 seconds and there must not be a hole in the visor! The shell of the helmet is made of carbon fiber and the thickness of the forehead area is 1cm. TSS: So a helmet for F1 standard is completely different to a helmet which is used for karting or even a motorcycle helmet for road traffic. PB: Yes, the only common thing is, that both are called helmets. TSS: Are the shells made individually for each driver? PB: No, there are certain standard sizes for shells which are used by each driver and we make the individual adjustments by adapting the cushions for example on the cheeks. TSS: Has there ever been a severe accident of a driver using one of your helmets?PB: No, fortunately all accidents with drivers using one of our products got off lightly – at least since Melbourne 1997…TSS: So I hope your record will continue to stand also in 2019 and your drivers, S. Vettel and D. Ricciardo for example, will have a safe season 2019! PB: Yes, the main objective is always that our helmets never have to prove their durability in action on the tracks… TSS: Thank you Peter for your time, this was a very informative view behind the scenes!
Sebastian Vettel uses up to 15 helmets in one season! All Speed and cars
P. Buerger
I am the Arai "Helmet-Man“ For Formula 1 since 1997
A steel projectile weighing 5 grams is shot onto the visor with 620km/h copyright Ferrari.com copyright Ferrari.com copyright Ferrari.com
Photos: ferrari.com and TSS
If you are looking for equipment for riders or drivers, check out Peters homepage www.point-racing.de. He has everything you need.
All Speed and cars
Dipl. Ing. Peter Bürger from Germany is the „helmet-man“ in Formula One. He is Arai`s F1 coordinator and takes care of the helmets of the japanese manufacturer drivers since more than 20 years. He maintained the helmets of more than 75 F1 drivers, who have won over 150 GP`s and 9 World Drivers Championships between them… impressive numbers!  TSS: Peter, you take care of the clients of your employer, the Arai helmet company, at all F1 GP`s around the world. How did you get in contact with motorsport? PB: I started karting as a hobby in the mid-eighties, in the end with pretty good success as my best result was a fourth place in the European championship in 1991 against rivals like Jos Verstappen or Giancarlo Fisichella! That was not bad, but also not good enough to continue in higher leagues. Right from my early days in karting, I was in contact with Arai. I bought their helmets and also sold them to other drivers. When I realized that I was not good enough for a professional career as a driver, Arai asked me to be their man on the spot, taking care of the helmets, providing spare parts or doing a repair service with visors etc. I accepted their offer and I also started my own company “Point Racing”, selling racing gear and equipment for drivers and riders. First I did this on a national level with minor motorsport classes, but it really took off in 1997. TSS: What happened? PB: As a consequence  of a shortage of staff, Arai offered me the job to take care of their clients in F1. This was in mid-january and they gave me one week to think about. I accepted, but it was a jump into the cold water… my job began at the tests in Barcelona and the Australian GP in Melbourne in march was my first F1 GP – Hockenheim 2019 is GP no. 410! TSS: Your job requires a lot of travelling. PB: Yes, I spend a huge amount of time on planes and hotel rooms around world. But if you want to work in F1, you have to accept this. We all in the F1 circus are pretty well payed and we see a lot of the world, but we also have restrictions in another parts of life, like family, friends etc. – I always say: “You have to stand F1”… TSS: You are very close to your clients, up to their privacy. PB: Oh yes, it is sometimes a very delicate business, as I am one of only very few people who sees F1 drivers in their underwear, hahaha… when they get a final massage before the race and I have to fix an issue on their helmet... TSS: What issues are you talking about? PB: For example a last minute visor change or things like that. Nowadays, helmet components don`t break anymore, but I have to keep them in perfect shape. A driver has to rely to a 100% on his equipment, and I am responsible that he can concentrate on his job and not worry about an issue with his helmet while driving. I have to give him the feeling, the helmet is absolutely safe!The helmet is the only personal thing of a driver, everything else belongs to the team. TSS: How does a preparation for a race weekend look like for you? PB: I come to the race track and first thing I do is check the condition of the helmets. A driver normally has three identical helmets available for a race weekend. For a whole season, Sebastian Vettel for example uses from 10 to 15 helmets. What changes during the weekend, is only the visors, depending on weather and visibilty. The visors make a really big difference, especially the ones for wet weather. They have an antimist glazing with an airspace in between the layers – so fogging is not an issue anymore with modern helmets! TSS: What about the safety features like the Zylon visor panel on the upperside of the visor which was made mandatory a few years ago after Felipe Massa`s accident in Hungary? PB: The panel has now disappeared again, because the shell of the helmet has to be made to a new standard which is called “ABP”, which stands for Advanced Ballistic Protection. I give you a few numbers: a steel projectile weighing 5 grams is shot onto the visor with a speed of 620km/h. The same spot of the visor will then be heated with a flame by 790 degrees centigrade for 45 seconds and there must not be a hole in the visor! The shell of the helmet is made of carbon fiber and the thickness of the forehead area is 1cm. TSS: So a helmet for F1 standard is completely different to a helmet which is used for karting or even a motorcycle helmet for road traffic. PB: Yes, the only common thing is, that both are called helmets. TSS: Are the shells made individually for each driver? PB: No, there are certain standard sizes for shells which are used by each driver and we make the individual adjustments by adapting the cushions for example on the cheeks. TSS: Has there ever been a severe accident of a driver using one of your helmets?PB: No, fortunately all accidents with drivers using one of our products got off lightly – at least since Melbourne 1997…TSS: So I hope your record will continue to stand also in 2019 and your drivers, S. Vettel and D. Ricciardo for example, will have a safe season 2019! PB: Yes, the main objective is always that our helmets never have to prove their durability in action on the tracks… TSS: Thank you Peter for your time, this was a very informative view behind the scenes!
A steel projectile weighing 5 grams is shot onto the visor with 620km/h Sebastian Vettel uses up to 15 helmets in one season! copyright Ferrari.com
Photos: ferrari.com and TSS
If you are looking for equipment for riders or drivers, check out Peters homepage www.point-racing.de. He has everything you need.
copyright Ferrari.com copyright Ferrari.com