New lids for Monaco - again

Second only to a driver's home race, the Monaco Grand Prix seems to attract more alternative helmet designs than any other event, and this year will be no different.

While McLaren seems to hog the headlines every season thanks to the diamond-encrusted creations emanating from its relationship with Steinmetz, two drivers have attempted to steal a march on the Woking outfit by revealing different designs of their own.

Fernando Alonso is no stranger to sporting an alternative lid for the big occasion and, having already run a golden version of his regular design in the Principality last season, is already dropping hints on Twitter feed about his plans for 2012, which will again feature the talents of tattooist Xuama.

Romain Grosjean, meanwhile, has already released details of the design he has come up with to mark his first Monaco GP as an F1 driver.

"Monaco is always a special event but, with this being the 500th race for the team and also the closest thing to a home race for me, I wanted to do something different," he told the official Lotus F1 website, "The design itself is very much the same as my original helmet; I've mainly changed the colours, which are now red gold and white. Hopefully it'll bring me good luck next weekend!"

The reigning GP2 champion revealed that he enjoyed getting involved in the design of his helmets, which have evolved over his seasons in the junior formulae.

"The first design I made myself was quite a few years ago now, and I was so excited when I first got to wear it," he grinned, "It's the same now, there's something quite special about having your own unique helmet; it's much more personal than someone else doing it for you. In the beginning, I always used the red orange and blue colours, and some of that has obviously stayed with me.

"This year's design is definitely one of my favourites; I think it goes pretty well with the colours of the E20, [but] I'm looking forward to seeing how this one looks at Monaco as well!"

And the Principality may not be the only race where the Grosjean helmet changes, although the Frenchman is only planning subtle shifts as the year goes on.

"The basic design will remain the same, but I'm planning on changing the colours a few times," he explained, "There are a few races I have in mind, but I'm not going to say any more; it will be a nice surprise!"