Sauber pair go 'pop' with special Monaco helmets

It has become tradition for F1 drivers to swap their usual crash helmet designs for something a little different when the series visits Monaco, but Sauber drivers Esteban Gutierrez and Adrian Sutil are taking matters a stage further this season.

As part of a charity campaign, the duo will contest the blue riband event wearing helmets designed by world-renowned Brazilian pop artist Romero Britto. The initiative is a joint campaign by Britto, Sauber and Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for Cancer Research, and neither driver hesitated in donating their helmets for the cause. The initiative is one of several joint activities planned by Gabrielle's Angel Foundation and the Sauber team this season and, while Sutil's helmet already came under the gavel during the Gabrielle's Gala charity event in London on 7 May, Guti?rrez will see his headgear auctioned online at charitybuzz.com after the Monaco weekend.

"We entered our partnership with Gabrielle's Angel Foundation at the beginning of the year because we strongly feel that the organisation is making a major contribution to cancer research," team principal Monisha Kaltenborn commented, "We are proud to be able to offer a platform that will reach a broader public. For me, the design of the helmets is very unusual and highly attractive, and I hope that they will raise as much money as possible for the foundation."

Miami-based Brazilian Britto is currently one of the world's best-known pop artists. His works have gone on show in galleries and museums in more than 100 countries, including the Salon Nationale des Beaux-Arts in the Carrousel du Louvre, the White House and the British Museum. Britto's clients include high-profile companies and organisations such as Coca Cola, BMW, Bentley, Adidas, Samsung and FIFA, and he supports numerous charity organisations, including Gabrielle's Angel Foundation.