Fashion tips for the paddock

Whether as a childhood present or a gift from a client during an invitation to a Grand Prix, we have all at some point held a Formula 1™ cap, garlanded with laurel leaves and plastered with tyre manufacturer’s logos. Virtually the same as those worn by the drivers on the podiums. The headgear has certainly changed over the years: thick soft cotton for Niki Lauda, synthetic material, square and broad for Ayrton Senna, and more recently baseball-style, rounded and with a long curved visor.

However the way in which a driver wears his cap has remained the same. Especially if the sun is scorching and even more so if male pattern baldness is an issue for the poor driver… So what are the rules? The most important is obviously to wear it straight, neither backwards nor tipped to one side. Keep things simple, with the cap correctly wedged down to the ears (unlike the current fashion for almost “balancing” the cap on the head) with the peak lightly curved downwards. Sticking to these rules, the only danger you risk is appearing slightly over the top, by, for example, accessorising the cap with perforated leather driving gloves. That would earn you at least three penalty points.

By Marc Beaugé