A strangely interesting video appeared on my social media feed yesterday. The video was filmed at the Venice Beach Skatepark in Los Angeles, California. The footage focuses primarily on a skateboarder as he launches out of a bowl, pulls a nosegrab high in the air and lands reasonably cleanly. All of this is set to Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child.” It was a pretty sick clip, but something just looked out of place.
For two brief moments, there was a skater in the foreground wearing what appeared to be the gear of a Formula 1 pit crew member. It’s not just the branded fire-resistant Nomex suit but also matching gloves and helmet. This skater is fully prepared to come out unscathed from both a small fall and a pitstop blaze. Though, I don’t think the shoes have been homologated with the FIA.
The equipment can be easily identified as from Red Bull Racing from either the 2019 or 2020 Formula One season. There’s a Honda logo on the left-hand chest portion of the suit beneath the Rauch logo, and there isn’t a Honda wordmark beneath the Red Bull logo like during the 2021 season. If the equipment is authentic, I can’t imagine how expensive that purchase was. The closest equivalent I can find for sale online is a 2014 Red Bull Racing crew suit for around $518.
The last thing I want to mention is that this is Los Angeles. While I jokingly tweeted that this proved that F1 had made it in America, I really want to know how a Venice Beach skateboarder got a hold of relatively recent F1 pitlane apparel and thought it was a good idea to wear it out to the skatepark. I’m also concerned about where the next place someone is going to appear randomly in Formula 1 pit gear.
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