Hamilton has returned to his now-iconic yellow helmet colours after moving to the Scuderia, staying on brand by using a Modena yellow base with touches of red to finish the design.
Hamilton raced in his early years in Formula 1 with a yellow helmet, having risen through the junior categories being inspired by the late three-time World Champion, Ayrton Senna.
He has had variations on yellow and other colours in his time at Mercedes, but his move to Ferrari offered the chance to reset, and he opted for an almost entirely yellow design upon his move to the Scuderia.
The red flourishes include a carryover from his later Mercedes helmets, including seven stars to represent his World Championships, but as alluded to after changing his social media profile pictures upon leaving Mercedes, his earliest racing days were completed while using a red helmet.
But after a switch to yellow, in part so he could be seen from the far end of the circuit, he is now going back to a colour palette for which he has become synonymous in Formula 1.
“My first helmet was red, actually – but it was actually Ferrari red, my first helmet, but my dad couldn’t see me at the end of the [track], around the first corner, so we ended up going with yellow,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.
“But to be able to tie it back to the beginning, using yellow as the base, I think it looks great with the red.”
Having now taken part in pre-season testing, alongside multiple TPC [testing of a previous car] outings for Ferrari, Hamilton has been able to spend time working with his colleagues as he prepares for a 24-race season at his new team.
With this move representing new beginnings, he harked back to his early days in Formula 1 for the feeling this represents.
“To be honest, it feels like what I remember having my first Grand Prix in Melbourne,” Hamilton said.
“You know, the first Grand Prix in 2007, it’s that sort of excitement in the build-up, being that it’s the first time with Ferrari.
“They obviously finished the season very strong last year, they were second in the Constructors’.
We’re under no illusion that we have a lot of work to do, it’s going to be very, very close between all these top cars and top teams, and so we’re just trying to be diligent, and everyone’s really level-headed and calm.
“Everyone believes that each of us, every single one of us can improve, and we’re all trying to sharpen our tools to be the best we can be.
“But as I said, the energy is there, the motivation is there more and the dedication is there more, which is great to see.”
