While most of his peers are enjoying vacations, Max Verstappen seems to be happy getting back to doing some sim racing during the winter break. During these sessions, though, he is being pestered with some questions about his life in the sport by his racing mates. One such question they asked him was what happens to the race suits he wears every weekend.
The Red Bull driver revealed that he gets to keep the suit if he wins the race. Now, that seems an interesting revelation as one would wonder how many race suits would Verstappen have from the 2022 and 2023 seasons, given he won 34 races across those two years.
From a common sense perspective, even Verstappen would be looking to keep the suits from those race wins as it would mean more to him. He also further elaborated on how frequently he takes a new kit during a season.
“It depends on the conditions and if it rained a lot or humidity-wise. I would say in general, it’s quite unlimited but you get a new kit every 3 or 4 races,” he added. This makes it around five to six race suits for one driver during a season.
“what happens to your racesuits after each race? do you get a new one each weekend?”
max: “if i win the race i keep it .. it depends on the conditions and if it rained a lot or humidity wise. i would say in general it’s quite unlimited but you get a new kit every 3 or 4 races.” pic.twitter.com/kTJ1BcVo4v
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) January 18, 2025
While race suits can be iconic collective items after a driver has worn them, the drivers themselves value their helmets more. With customized paint jobs and designs on helmets at regular intervals during the season, all F1 drivers have a special connection with their crash helmets.
In fact, they also follow an honorable tradition of swapping helmets at the end of the season to show respect towards a competitor. Oftentimes, when a driver is retiring or leaving the sport, or if they wish to celebrate an iconic moment such as a maiden Grand Prix win or a Championship triumph, a helmet swap holds quite a lot of sentimental value.
Nevertheless, as the helmets protect drivers from fatal injuries to their heads, even the race suits are critical for safety in F1. With fire-resistant materials used to make them, race suits can protect a driver in the event of a fire breaking out during an accident on the track.
So, there is a logical reason as well why drivers would often take a new race suit after every three to four races, as Verstappen revealed.
