Kiwi F1 fan wins Liam Lawson helmet design competition

Christchurch resident, Ian Ebbs, has won a Liam Lawson helmet design competition. It will be worn by the Kiwi F1 Racing Bulls driver at the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix in October.

Lawson opened the competition to Kiwis and received almost 500 entries. He vetted every entry before choosing the winner. The design will be transformed into a race helmet. Ebbs himself will hand it over to Lawson ahead of race day in Singapore.

The nationwide competition invited New Zealanders to participate in the competition with original helmet designs. Lawson said the one he chose by the Christchurch father-of-three stood out for its bold colours. It also had playful details, and strong sense of Kiwi identity.

“Massive thanks to everyone who sent in a design for this competition. I went through every single submission and I was blown away with the amount of effort people put in to this” Lawson said.

“There were so many awesome entries and picking one hasn’t been easy but Ian’s stood out straight away. Its bold, full of energy and colour, and encompasses so many things I love about coming home to New Zealand. I’m pumped to see it brought to life and even more pumped to wear it on track.”

Ebbs said his design was inspired by Lawson’s personal journey, as well as his own ideas and input from his three children.

“It reflects the New Zealand landscape, golf, Kiwiana, and Aotearoa itself, to capture Liam’s pride and personality,” Ebbs shared.

“I looked back at Liam’s helmets to understand how he represents himself on track, and ended up focusing on his new love of golf.”

“I settled on pink, blue, and white as the main colours, since Liam often uses them on his helmets. Then I started picturing a Kiwi bird in a pink backwards cap driving a golf cart. 

“I wanted a fun, cartoon-like style, that evolved into something more layered. It features ferns, rolling hills, clouds, kiwifruit, and the shape of New Zealand.”

A lifelong Formula 1 fan, Ebbs has passed his passion on to his family. As part of his prize, he will be traveling to Singapore with his son Michael to deliver the helmet to Lawson in person.

‘’This is incredibly exciting for our family. We’ve followed Liam for a long time. We never miss a qualifier or race, and the idea that he’ll be wearing my design is just surreal.

“Getting to hand it to him ourselves is incredible,” Ebbs added.

The custom helmet will be officially unveiled in the lead-up to the Singapore Grand Prix in October 2025, with the handover taking place ahead of race weekend.