Lewis Hamilton has revealed his new helmet design ahead of his debut Formula 1 outing for Ferrari at Fiorano on Wednesday.
Posting on his X account, Hamilton showed a photograph of his hands holding the helmet – complete with the prancing horse logo and accompanying Ferrari sponsors – which is yellow with red trim, as well as his number 44 and the Hamilton ‘wings’.
The colour harks back to Hamilton’s early days in F1, in which he wore yellow in his first six years in the sport whilst driving for McLaren.
The design was akin to the ones he wore from his karting days, stretching through the junior formulae, and was said to have been partly inspired by the helmet of his idol, Ayrton Senna.
In 2014, in his second season with Mercedes, Hamilton switched to a red and white design, which stayed with various tweaks, up until 2017, when he returned with another yellow helmet, before using the previous colour scheme again.
In 2020, the year of his record-equalling seventh World Championship, Hamilton used a purple design which he also used in 2021.
Latterly, he has worn a yellow with a more fluorescent tinge, with purple trimming.
Hamilton has also modelled some one-off designs throughout his career, including a Union Flag design for the 2019 British Grand Prix, and at the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, he wore a helmet with a rainbow design, in solidarity with the LGBT community.
Hamilton’s Italian job brings Tifosi fanfare
Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari has caused predictable excitement amongst the team’s adoring fans, the Tifosi, and amongst the wider F1 community.
The image of a suited Hamilton posing next to a Ferrari F40 in-front of the converted farmhouse at Fiorano – the home of founder Enzo Ferrari – has garnered over five million likes on Instagram.
Hamilton and Ferrari have between them posted other imagery, including videos of his arrival, in which he has been heard conversing in Italian and meeting fans who waited to catch a glimpse of the seven-time World Champion.
Hamilton has now turned the wheel of a scarlet car for the first time, driving the F1-75, the team’s 2022 model.
The fanfare of Hamilton’s arrival in Maranello has been the culmination of almost a year’s worth of excitement, with Hamilton and the team announcing the union last February, which brought to an end his 11-year tenure with Mercedes, which brought six of his titles, ensuring his status as one of the sport’s all-time greats.
READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton conducts debut Ferrari F1 outing at Fiorano
