Each racing driver has an extremely personal relationship with their helmets. The helmet becomes the canvas that the driver expresses themselves on. Whether it is Ayrton Senna‘s helmet with the Brazilian flag, or Sebastian Vettel’s helmet representing German colors, driver helmets have always acted as an extension of the driver’s identity. The most iconic helmet designs over the years include one key feature. They incorporate key aspects of what is unique to a driver. For Max Verstappen, it is the Dutch Lion, his Nation’s pride. But for Carlos Sainz, things take quite a symbolic turn.

When referring to influential figures in the Spaniard’s racing career, he cannot help but feel indebted to fellow national, Maria de Villota. An ace who competed in Superleague Formula and Euro-Series 3000, De Villota was essential in paving the way for Sainz’s success and love for the sport. However, things took a tragic turn while for the aspiring young woman when she was testing a Formula 1 car in 2012. Sainz has immortalized her importance through the red star on his helmet.

Carlos Sainz immortalizes de Villota

Her recovery was short-lived, unfortunately. On October 11, 2013, Maria de Villota was found dead in a Seville hotel. Forensic reports tied the cause of her death back to that fateful incident with Marussia. Since she passed away, her family has set up a foundation in her name, Legado Maria de Villota. In the year 2016, Carlos was appointed as the foundation’s ambassador.

While speaking at the conference, Sainz recalled his first laps in an open-wheel racer. “They take me and put me in a formula at 13 years old, and Maria, she begins to give me the first turns, and I go after her. I think I did 10-20 laps behind Maria. I keep them like gold in my mind.” The Ferrari driver added, “I have had a tremendous relationship with her ever since. I made the personal decision to wear Maria’s star on my helmet since 2014. It’s not carrying the legacy but I do carry my personal Maria De Villota inside the helmet.”

Maria de Villota was a powerful influence, not only in Carlos Sainz’s life. She was also an inspiration for countless women who dreamt of entering the world of motorsport. While taking a closer look at the back of Sainz’s helmet, we can see that De Villota has been immortalized by the red star, which is the symbol of her First Star Foundation.

Who was Maria de Villota?

She first began mentoring Carlos Sainz at the Madrid Driver’s School. None other than a former F1 driver and her father, Emilio de Villota, owned this school. Her brother, Emilio Jr, also competed in motorsport throughout their childhood. This family was destined to race!

At age 16, she had her first outing in the kart and she would go on to win that race! The young female driver would go against all odds to realize her dreams. She stayed karting for four years before moving to open-wheel racing in series such as Spanish Formula 3 and Formula Toyota. She was not at the top of her game. The Spaniard soon left for endurance and touring car championships. De Villota even took part in the prestigious Rolex 24 of Daytona.

In 2012, de Villota became a test driver for the Marussia F1 team. She finally got her chance to be behind the wheel of an F1 car, even if it was for testing. However, it did not take long for tragedy to strike. She was testing the car at the Duxford Aerodrome when she crashed into a stationary truck parked at the end of the test run.

Before the test, de Villota felt she could miss the truck with ease, but couldn’t. A 30-40 mph speed into the barriers was enough to cause significant injury to the aspiring test driver. It was not an easy recovery either, as it took medics over an hour to extract her from the car. She had lost her right eye in the crash and would now wear an eye patch with pride.

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For the Spanish Ferrari driver, her death still strikes a chord a decade later. He continues to carry her spirit with him as he excels at the Maranello-based outfit. Just the way she would have wanted.