While Mercedes has only made minor tweaks to its car’s livery for 2020, Lewis Hamilton has gone radical with the design of his helmet ahead of the new season.
Two days before his first drive in his new car at Mercedes’ launch at Silverstone, Hamilton revealed the colour scheme he plans to use.
2020 Purple Dove! #StillIRise #TeamLH pic.twitter.com/tIr4HWAw57
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) February 12, 2020
Throughout his junior career and during his first few seasons in F1, Hamilton used a yellow helmet inspired by his racing hero Ayrton Senna. The yellow evolved into a predominantly white design when he joined Mercedes and in recent years has also featured large red areas.
The basic underlying design remains the same for 2020, but the red has been replaced by a deep purple.
Hamilton’s design incorporates six stars on the side to represent his six world championships and also features his motto “Still I Rise”, which is inspired by a Maya Angelou poem and the lyrics of Tupac Shakur.
FIA regulations prevent drivers making signifcant changes to their helmet design once the season has started — an attempt to make each driver instantly recognisable from the granstands — but drivers frequently test the rule by tweaking colours and minor design changes at certain races. They are allowed one complete change for a one-off race of their choosing.
Mercedes will reveal the first images of its new car on Friday when it takes to the track at Silverstone for a 100km shakedown ahead of pre-season testing next week.