Liam Lawson has selected the winning fan-designed helmet he will wear at the Singapore Grand Prix this October. The nationwide competition invited New Zealanders to submit original designs, offering a rare chance to see their creativity come to life on the Formula 1 grid. With nearly 500 entries, the contest highlighted the imagination, talent, and passion of Kiwi motorsport fans.
After hours of judging the submissions, Lawson chose the winning design by Christchurch father-of-three Ian Ebbs. The design stood out for its bold colours, 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 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. At first I thought of Lightning McQueen, but I ended up focusing on his new love for golf.”
“I settled on pink, blue, and white as the main colours, since Liam often uses them on his helmets. 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, with elements like ferns, rolling hills, clouds, kiwi fruit, 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.
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