Mercedes will run its famous three-pointed star logo in Pride colours for the next three Formula One races.
The reigning constructors’ champions will run the new-look logo, which it is calling the Pride Star, on the nose of its car at races in Azerbaijan (June 12), Canada (June 19) and Great Britain (July 3) to raise awareness for Pride month and to “add their voices to the global celebration of the LGBTQ+ community”.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and teammate George Russell will also wear the Pride Star logo on their race helmets.
Happy #PrideMonth ❤️🌈
We’re proud to be running the @MercedesBenz Pride Star on our W13s for the next three races, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and raising awareness for Pride Month 🙏 pic.twitter.com/WbMNiC8L8O
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) June 8, 2022
A team statement said: “Displaying the Pride star represents a visual expression of our commitment to creating a more diverse and inclusive team. We firmly believe that promoting a culture in which our team members can freely express their personality and identity will result in a stronger and more performant team.”
Hamilton also carried Pride colours on his race helmet at races in Qatar and Saudi Arabia at the end of last year.
Mercedes has used its car to highlight a social cause before. For the 2020 season, which was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the team switched from its normal silver livery to an all-black colour scheme as part of a public pledge to improve diversity within the team and sport. The team retained the all-black scheme for 2021 before switching back to traditional silver for 2022.
The team has since launched the Accelerate 25 diversity and inclusion programme, and Hamilton has pledged £20 million of his own money to form the Mission 44 charity. Both aim to improve diversity within Mercedes and Formula One in general.