Custom Bell racing helmet design Dan Ticktum (F2)

📋 Specifications:	Bell HP77
Official Driver	Dan Ticktum (FIA Formula 2 / DAMS)
Paintwork	White, fuchsia, light blue, silver, gold, and black
Main Finish	High-Gloss
Graphic Details	Naval Dazzle Camouflage geometric pattern, black pinstripes
Customisation	100% Hand-painted, Dia Design bespoke finish

The Driver and his Unconventional Style

Dan Ticktum is widely recognized in international motorsport not only for his raw speed and natural talent—which earned him two victories at the prestigious Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix—but also for his outspoken, charismatic personality. Throughout his seasons in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with the DAMS team, Ticktum requested that his technical racing gear match his nonconformist attitude. For a driver who refuses to blend into the background, the helmet is the perfect canvas to express visual aggression and originality on the starting grid. This collaboration with Andrea Panaro’s Dia Design studio in Bistagno, Italy, resulted in highly complex and visually striking custom helmet designs.

The Graphic Concept: Dazzle Camouflage

The standout feature of this Bell HP77 helmet is its modern motorsport reinterpretation of the famous Dazzle Camouflage (also known as disruptive camouflage), a naval masking technique used during the World Wars. Instead of hiding the ship, this high-contrast, broken geometric pattern was designed to confuse the enemy’s eye, distorting their perception of the vessel’s shape, heading, and speed.

Dia Design translated this historic military concept into a high-definition contemporary racing layout. The shell was meticulously divided into dozens of geometric sections with contrasting angles and alignments. In this execution, the base paint blends shades of white, fuchsia, light blue, silver, gold, and black into a dynamic geometric array. To protect and enhance this disruptive pattern, we applied a uniform premium High-Gloss clear coat, making the silver and gold metallic details pop under direct track lighting.

Dia Design Craftsmanship

Executing this layout required dozens of hours of millimeter-precise masking at our Bistagno workshop. Every single black pinstripe separating the geometric blocks was airbrushed by hand with surgical precision. We integrated high-visibility fuchsia and light blue details on the crown and around the air intakes to ensure the design remains prominent inside the cockpit and during high-speed television broadcasts. The final protective coating ensures exceptional durability against track debris, maintaining the brilliant gloss finish throughout the season.