Lewis Hamilton has revealed a fan-designed red and yellow helmet he will use for the 2017 season.
The three-time world champion offered fans the chance to design his new lid at the start of the year. Revealing the winning outfit on Wednesday, Hamilton named the designer as Raí Caldato, who will also receive a replica from the Mercedes driver as a reward.
My racing helmet design for the 2017 Season, by Raí Caldato. Full message on Instagram: https://t.co/reOdUChz1h @MercedesAMGF1 @BellRacingEU pic.twitter.com/kDCzaMxEUj
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) February 22, 2017
In a message on Instagram, Hamilton said he liked that Caldato's design stayed true to his long-time association with boyhood idol Ayrton Senna.
"Raí evolves my layout by adding new stripe elements on the sides. As a tribute to my hero, Ayrton Senna the helmet features the colours of Brazil -- green, yellow and blue. These are accompanied with the three stars that represent my championship wins. There's yellow throughout that reminds me of my helmets in the past. The candy apple red balances with the yellow very well.
"Raí, I look forward to meeting you in person to present you with your prize! Thank you all for entering this competition, I'm taken back by your creativity."
Under F1's regulations, drivers can only change their helmet design on a one-off basis in a campaign, meaning Hamilton will carry the new colours for the majority (if not all of) the season.
In 2014, Hamilton moved away from his traditional yellow lid in favour of a white, red and yellow design (see below).