F1: Helmet 'will add 10 horsepower'
A special new helmet, developed by a German manufacturer for Michael Schumacher, will effectively add 10 horsepower to his Ferrari’s performance, the manufacturer has claimed.
"We’ve worked on it for at least 3000 hours in the wind tunnel," Oliver Schimpf, research chief of a Braunschweig-based company, Schuberth, told the German publication, Auto Bildmotorsport this week.
The helmet forms a single unit with the Ferrari’s neck support, which effectively reduces drag to a minimum, the report claims
Schumacher’s helmet will also be narrower than that of his Brazilian team-mate Rubens Barrichello which will enable air to flow more effectively into the Ferrari’s airbox from which its engine is cooled.
The report is unclear about whether the world champion will be wearing the new helmet when he begins the defence of his world crown in the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne this coming Sunday.
