Racing Force dresses the drivers from head to toe
Racing Force is the leading group in the motorsport safety product sector, offering the most advanced and complete range of accessories used worldwide by the best professional drivers, amateur athletes, and professionals in motorsport. Present in many championships, from Formula 1 to the World Rally Championship, WEC, Rally-raid, and Karting, in the last ten years, Racing Force Group has won more than 60 titles in the FIA World Championship, along with triumphs in IndyCar, NASCAR, and Supercars. The group includes the Italian brand OMP for fire-resistant clothing and components, Bell Racing for helmets, Zeronoise for communication systems, and Racing Spirit for technical clothing.
Suppliers of APX-GP
With such a curriculum, it’s no surprise that the company, headquartered in Ronco Scrivia, Genoa, was chosen as the official supplier of helmets and technical clothing for APX-GP, the fictional Formula 1 team featured in the movie “F1,” starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, set to release on June 25. There’s a lot of Italy in Racing Spirit, thanks to the tricolor roots of OMP and Zeronoise, which have production facilities in our country.
Formula Passion.it met with Jacopo Rubino and Dario Comacchio, respectively, Communication Manager of Racing Force and Brand Manager of Racing Spirit, during an event to present the technical clothing worn by the actors during the filming of “F1.” It was a valuable opportunity to gather many curiosities about the costume creation process for the film and interesting information about the racewear of professional drivers.
How did Warner Bros, the film’s producer, contact Racing Force for the supply of costume materials?
“There’s a nice story behind it because it all started with another famous F1 movie: ‘Rush’ by Ron Howard, released in 2013. As OMP, we had already made the suits for that film, and Bell also supplied the helmets. Through some shared professionals between the two productions, with whom we had kept a great relationship, the foundation was laid for us to be involved in this new project. These films were produced by different studios, but the excellent relationship from the previous collaboration led them to contact us again, and that’s how the collaboration began.”
Are the helmets, suits, and gloves used by the actors in the film the same as those worn by real F1 drivers and team members?
“Yes, of course. For us, it was like supplying a real Formula 1 team, using certified materials that meet the usual FIA standards for racewear and helmets. Here you can see Damson Idris’s helmet and Brad Pitt’s suit. The helmets worn by the characters played by Brad Pitt and Damson Idris are based on the same model worn by real Formula 1 drivers, the HP77, worn by Leclerc, Hamilton, Alonso, Norris, etc. We supplied the APX-GP team’s drivers with our top-of-the-line suits. Of course, we made some customizations for the film’s needs, related to logos and sizes, just as we do when working with top teams. For us, it was like outfitting a real F1 team, including the mechanics, and even the safety belts in the cars are authentic. The mentality was the same, and we created hundreds of materials, not just for the drivers, but also for the mechanics and team members, to whom we provided uniforms. It was quite a commitment.”
How much time did it take to produce all this material?
“The process took several months, from defining the design to producing the various batches following the shooting schedule.”
And when you need to supply a real Formula 1 team, which renews its clothing every year, is the process faster?
“Top-level teams are very well structured and know the timelines required in the sector. When it’s time to start a new supply, it usually begins a few months before the season.”
Curiosities about racewear for professional drivers
How many F1 teams do you supply?
“We have 14 drivers on the grid (70% of the total) wearing our Bell helmets. As OMP, this year we supply Mercedes through an agreement with Adidas. The suit that Kimi Antonelli and George Russell will wear is produced and homologated by us. So, we also have the privilege of dressing Andrea Kimi Antonelli from head to toe this year. We will provide him with everything: helmet, suit, gloves, shoes, and all the racewear. The same for Russell, but we’re particularly proud to dress the rising star of Italian motorsport. With Racing Spirit, we supply clothing to all members of Pirelli, another Italian excellence.”
Are Formula 1 drivers very demanding when it comes to customizing their clothing?
“Generally, all drivers have their own needs and preferences. What one driver likes may not be the same for another. There are also drivers who are great developers. If we look at history, Ayrton Senna and Schumacher were two incredible drivers in terms of evolving our products for suits, racewear, and helmets. Senna certainly pushed us to innovate the inverted seams on gloves. Maybe not the most aesthetically pleasing, but functional for greater sensitivity. Schumacher was a great catalyst for the evolution of suits. And I would say that on shoes, Robert Kubica was a key figure, a very meticulous and demanding developer. In the end, these three products, even in their current versions, still have their roots in the work done with these three great drivers. With helmets, customization is sometimes less necessary because the helmet is a rigid object with predefined sizes. We can work a bit on the padding or do 3D head scans for top drivers. So, we may build a custom-made padding. But it’s mostly with racewear that the material is customized more.”
Of course, accidents can teach a lot about safety development.
“Certainly, we also learn from accidents in motorsport, both from those that result in a bad crash but also from those that end with a sigh of relief. For example, Grosjean, in his terrible crash in Bahrain, wore our helmet, which certainly protected his head from the fire but also from breathing toxic fumes, thanks to its ventilation system. Even Ian Roberts, the FIA medical coordinator who rescued him, was wearing OMP. We’ve been equipping the FIA since 2012, providing all the marshals and safety car and medical car drivers with our gear. Every accident teaches us something. For example, after Grosjean’s crash, the FIA introduced stricter glove regulations. Massa’s crash in Hungary in 2009 led to helmet evolution, with the addition of a Kevlar band over the visor, initially applied and later integrated into the helmet. Since 2018-19, with the latest regulations, the visor opening has been narrowed. This band is now made of ballistic material and must pass even stricter tests. For us, this is always the catalyst for pushing our limits forward.”
Does a driver’s performance also depend on the comfort level of their clothing?
“Absolutely, the two factors are correlated, and that’s why we also play a role in positively impacting the driver’s performance. A suit that breathes or a comfortable helmet helps the driver stay focused and not get fatigued. And, of course, there’s also the weight factor. If a suit or helmet weighs 100 grams less than another product, it may help the team use those 100 grams in a better place. Moreover, for the driver, the lighter helmet is especially important in corners, where with accelerations up to 4G, that 100 grams becomes 400 grams less, reducing neck overload. They are super-trained, of course, but performance is also about these details. So for us, there are two concepts that are at odds. On one hand, we always need to be at the top of safety and robustness, but on the other hand, we must aim for maximum lightness. To achieve this, we work on materials, solutions, stitching, and designs to save weight. There’s continuous research behind it.”
The helmet, a personal and customized item
Is there a difference in the supply of suits and helmets to teams or drivers?
“Normally, with racewear, we have contracts directly with the teams. With helmets, it’s different because the helmet is very personal, like shoes for a football player or a racket for a tennis player. Bell typically signs contracts directly with drivers, while OMP does so with teams, but there are exceptions, such as Valentino Rossi, who has a direct contract with OMP. Ferrari has a direct contract with Bell for all its official drivers.”
Are Formula 1 and WEC helmets different?
“Yes, they are different. In Formula 1, the helmet must comply with the FIA 8860-2018-ABP homologation, which is the most extreme, and applies to open-wheel cars. It’s the same used in Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula E, Formula Regional, and IndyCar. So, they have a narrower visor and ballistic protection. In a closed-cockpit car, the helmet can have a larger visor opening. In WEC, we supply the HP7 model, which is closely related to the HP77 used in F1 but has a larger visor opening. Every discipline has its own specifications, and in rallying, almost all drivers use open-face helmets.”
In the 1970s, drivers wore a very distinctive helmet with separate eye openings. What was the reason for this design?
“Yes, I remember, it was also supplied by Bell at the time. It wasn’t an aesthetic choice, but a technical one. Helmets are always designed with function before form. The helmet with two ‘goggles’ came about because fire-resistant helmets were introduced a few years earlier, and the idea of adding a separator above the nose was to prevent the visor from melting during a fire. It allowed the visor to stay open in an emergency. This design was abandoned when visor materials became fire-resistant. It lasted for about 4-5 years. Drivers like Jacky Ickx, John Watson, and Emerson Fittipaldi wore them. It’s now remembered as the ‘70s helmet.’”
Compared to the 1970s, when a Formula 1 driver would wear a single helmet and a few suits for the entire season, things have clearly changed.
“Definitely! F1 teams want to ensure they have a rotation of racewear items during weekends to make sure everything is always perfect. For helmets, they usually have a couple ready per weekend, because in case of rain, the visors may need adjustments. There are also cases where they need different visors, one clear and one dark, for weekends with both day and night sessions. This helps optimize preparation time. Also, in Formula 1, we provide trackside support for the drivers, which they really appreciate, especially for helmets. This service, called Racing Service, is present at all Grand Prix, as well as in other high-level categories.”
Rally and military aviation
In rallying, Racing Force is also a key presence with its brands.
“Definitely, in rallying, the seat supply is particularly significant and characteristic. In rallies, we dominate with our HTE-ONE seat family, thanks to collaborations with Toyota and Hyundai. For example, last year, with our products, including suits, seats, helmets, and belts, we won all the World Rally Championship events. Neuville won the championship with a Bell helmet and OMP seats, and Toyota won the manufacturers’ title with OMP suits and seats. In rallying, we have an incredible history because we’ve worked with Toyota when Carlos Sainz was winning his first titles, with Tommy Makinen, and then with Volkswagen and Ogier, and now with Toyota. A real streak of World Championships.”
Given the variety of these situations and disciplines you cover, how many products do you have in your catalog?
“We have over 2500 products in our catalog, more than 2000 just from OMP. We are almost unique in the sense that our direct competitors are usually more specialized in one family of products. Some only make suits, others only helmets, belts, seats, or fire extinguishers. As OMP, we do it all, even fire extinguishers that are mounted inside the cars. We compete with everyone and strive to be at the top in every product category, so the challenge is ambitious. Additionally, we’ve worked on diversification projects to export the technology we’ve developed in motorsport to other sectors. One example is helmets: we’ve become official suppliers of carbon fiber helmet shells used by the United States Air Force’s Top Gun pilots. This technology is derived from Formula 1 helmets. Our ability to apply the technology we’ve acquired has made an impact outside of motorsport, and it’s incredible.”
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