Bret Iwan, who has voiced Mickey since 2009, designed two custom Bell Racing helmets for Disney’s Formula 1 campaign.
The man who is Mickey Mouse designed a pair of Formula 1 helmets.
Bret Iwan, the official voice of Mickey Mouse, created two custom racing helmets in partnership with Bell Racing for Disney’s “Fuel the Magic” campaign with Formula 1.
Bobby Kim, global creative director for Disney Consumer Products, oversaw the designs.
What is Disney’s Fuel the Magic campaign?
It is a multi-year partnership, and it is considerably larger than a merchandise deal.
Disney and Formula 1 announced the collaboration in May 2025 at Grand Prix Plaza in Las Vegas, with Tasia Filippatos, president of Disney Consumer Products, and Emily Prazer, chief commercial officer of Formula 1.
It launched at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November 2025, including a Mickey Mouse takeover of the Fountains of Bellagio.
The 2026 season campaign began at the Australian Grand Prix in March and expanded at the Chinese Grand Prix from March 13 to 15, running across select race weekends since.
Mickey and friends have their own F1 comic
The content side runs on WEBTOON, in vertical-scroll format.
The original series follows Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy as they help support a racing team in crisis, built around teamwork and friendship.
New episodes release in cadence with each race, tracking the Formula 1 season across 24 races on five continents.
Where to buy Disney Formula 1 merchandise
Select race weekends feature Fuel the Magic fanzone pop-ups carrying merchandise inspired by each host city, alongside a core Disney and Formula 1 collection.
Products are available at the F1 Hub, Grand Prix Plaza, on F1.com and through the Amazon F1 store, the last of which is U.S. only.
An exclusive Mickey Mouse F1 plush launched at the Australian Grand Prix.
Gentle Monster is producing the 2026 Circuit Collection, a global eyewear collaboration with both brands.
Pop-up experiences have run in Seoul and Shanghai, where a monumental Mickey Mouse sculpture was installed alongside a Formula 1 car.
Why Formula 1 wanted Disney
The audience numbers explain the whole arrangement.
More than 4 million children aged 8 to 12 now actively follow Formula 1 across the EU and the United States, according to figures cited at the announcement.
54 percent of the sport’s TikTok followers and 40 percent of its Instagram followers are under 25.
Formula 1 counts roughly 820 million fans worldwide.
“It fits perfectly with our strategy to step outside the world of sport and into a broader consumer market,” Prazer said, “and in return we’re introducing Disney to our 820 million fans worldwide.”
What Disney said about the F1 collaboration
Filippatos framed it around the character’s approaching centennial.
“As we celebrate nearly a century of Mickey Mouse & Friends, our collaboration with Formula 1 offers a unique opportunity to bring two powerhouse entertainment properties together to create products that fans will love,” she said.
Prazer described the ongoing campaign as more than a sports partnership, calling it a use of both companies’ capacity for immersive cultural storytelling.
Who is Bret Iwan
The helmet credit is the detail that makes this unusual, and his background is worth knowing.
Iwan became the official voice of Mickey Mouse in 2009, succeeding Wayne Allwine, who had held the role since 1977. He is the fourth performer to voice the character, after Walt Disney himself, Jimmy MacDonald and Allwine.
Before Disney, Iwan worked as an illustrator and greeting card artist, which is the part that makes a helmet design credit less surprising than it first appears.
Custom helmet design in Formula 1 is normally handled by specialist motorsport artists. Handing two of them to a voice actor who happens to draw is not how that usually goes.
Disney has said additional details on the campaign will follow across the remainder of the season.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
Disney Parks Blog (Sept. 3, 2026), the Bell Racing helmet designs by Bret Iwan under Bobby Kim’s creative direction
The Walt Disney Company (February 2026), the WEBTOON series premise, the fanzone pop-up structure, the Gentle Monster eyewear collection and the retail locations
Formula One World Championship Limited (May 2026), the Seoul and Shanghai pop-ups and Emily Prazer’s comments
The Walt Disney Company (December 2025), the original announcement, Tasia Filippatos’ statement and the F1 audience figures
Sports Illustrated (February 2026), the 24-race WEBTOON release cadence and the Australian Grand Prix plush launch