"Besties helmet swap": F1 fans left teary-eyed after Alpine share heartwarming moment between Esteban Ocon and Mick Schumacher

Alpine recently released pictures of a heartwarming helmet swap between Esteban Ocon and Mick Schumacher, which F1 fans on Twitter greeted with wholesome reactions.

The pictures, which must have been clicked last year, were only released recently and fans were ecstatic to witness them.

Why are helmet swaps so significant in F1?

In F1, exchanging helmets is a ritual to signify a mark of respect and tribute to fellow drivers. It is Formula 1's version of a jersey swap, which is often seen in sports like football. Due to its rarity, a helmet swap is a significant occasion in the F1 world.

All drivers wear customized helmets, and thus, exchanging their helmets is like swapping something personal. Drivers even use specially customized helmets for special occasions, similar to what Lando Norris did earlier in the 2022 season during the Miami Grand Prix.

Mick Schumacher's 2023 season was in doubt after being released by Haas

Much has changed for Mick Schumacher in Formula 1 since this helmet swap with Ocon originally took place. After Haas decided not to extend his contract further, he was left without a seat for the upcoming season of F1. Although there were a few opportunities at Alpine and Williams, the gates soon closed as all teams confirmed their lineups.

However, Mercedes came to his rescue and chose him as their reserve driver. While this does not mean that he will be racing in 2023, it will surely provide him with good opportunities.

Given their success in recent years, Schumacher has a good chance to learn a lot from the Silver Arrows. If his performances with Mercedes are good enough, he could be picked by a team for later seasons.

About the author

Gunaditya is one of Sportskeeda’s more experienced F1 and NASCAR journalists, having authored over 2,000 posts that have garnered over 4 million reads. He has been in this field for over four years and has pursued a degree in journalism.

When it comes to reporting, he is extremely meticulous with his research and tries his best to analyze every topic in its entirety before filing his story. Gunaditya does so by closely following veterans in the motorsports journalism arena and attempts to understand perspectives without personal bias to ensure his stories are accurate and reliable.

He is an old-schooler with respect to F1 as his favorite driver is Michael Schumacher due to the legendary driver’s adrenaline-fueled racing style, aggressive approach, and the resilience he showed early in his career. Understandably, his favorite constructor is Ferrari.

Apart from F1, Gunaditya's interest lies in football, and he is a keen fan of FC Barcelona and Argentina, and is also immensely interested in art and films. One can say he wears many hats, as he is also a musician.

Know More