Max Verstappen Adorns Brazilian Colors for Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Max Verstappen will race in Brazilian colors at this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix after revealing a special helmet for the event.

The Red Bull driver has replaced his usual red, white, and blue with the green, yellow, and blue of the Brazilian flag, sharing the design on Instagram alongside the caption: “Bringing some samba to São Paulo.”

It is not the first time he has celebrated this race with a new helmet. Last year’s Sao Paulo helmet added gold and green accents to his usual lion motif, with Verstappen describing the race as “special” at the time.

There are plenty of reasons for that. His partner, Kelly Piquet, is the daughter of three-time world champion Nelson Piquet. To add to this, he counts Audi’s Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto as a close friend.

The circuit has also provided some of the most memorable moments of his career.

In 2016, in only his second season in F1, he finished third in the wet despite being 16th with 16 laps to go, in one of the first races to show what he was capable of.

He has since won at Interlagos three times, in 2019, 2023, and 2024. The last of those is often regarded as one of the greatest drives of his career. He started 17th in heavy rain, won for the first time in months, and moved much closer to his fourth world title.

Even last year, when he started from the pit lane, he climbed to third, finishing less than half a second behind a young Kimi Antonelli in second.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Mark Thompson – Getty Images

This year’s visit comes with Verstappen in good form, having won in Mexico last weekend to take his sixth victory in that race. Antonelli has already clinched the title, but a win at a track where Verstappen has so often excelled would be another strong result to take into the final rounds of the season.

He is not the only driver changing the design of his racing suit for this coming weekend. Antonelli will also wear a special helmet as a tribute to Ayrton Senna, while he and George Russell will wear purple suits for Mercedes across the weekend.

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