First look: Lewis Hamilton debuts new purple helmet design at W11 shakedown

Lewis Hamilton got behind the wheel of his 2020 F1 charger for the first time at Silverstone on Friday – and used the opportunity to debut his brand new helmet design.

The six-time champ took to the track in the W11 after his Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas had completed the opening laps in the new car at its shakedown run at the home of the British Grand Prix.

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And as the pictures show, Hamilton was wearing his new helmet as he tested out the machine he hopes will power him to a record-equalling seventh world championship title this season.

He first revealed his new white and purple lid on his Twitter account on Wednesday, with the simple message: “2020 Purple Dove!”.

When the former McLaren racer first burst on to the F1 scene in 2007 he sported a predominantly yellow helmet – inspired by his hero Ayrton Senna – but since his move to Mercedes in 2013 he has gradually evolved the design to include more red and white.

His new 2020 colour scheme is largely white and purple, and features six stars – one for each of his F1 championships – as well as his ‘Still I Rise’ motto underneath a representation of Rio de Janiero’s Christ the Redeemer statue.

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