Max Verstappen has rubbed salt in Lewis Hamilton’s wounds thanks to the changes he’s made to his helmet ahead of the new F1 season. Verstappen landed his maiden F1 title last year after controversially beating Hamilton at the last Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi.
Last season’s F1 title race proved to be one of the most intense competitions of all time. Verstappen held a 32-point advantage over his title rivals over the summer and appeared to be home and dry with four races left on the calendar.
But Hamilton rallied as he won in Brazil, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in preparation for a final race in the desert where the winner takes it all.
The rivals entered the height of the season as Hamilton sought a record eighth championship.
And the Brit seemed to make history as he passed his nemesis on the first lap to lead most of the Grand Prix.
But the race was thrown wide open after Williams’ Nicholas Latifi crashed into a brick wall late on, resulting in a safety car being deployed.
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He also put the #1 on the spoiler on the back of his helmet after deciding to ditch his regular #33.
And he even embroidered a World Cup star on the back of the helmet.
“A little more gold, as you can see,” enthused Verstappen when unveiling the helmet for the first time.
“I decided not to change the design much, just change the colors a bit. Instead of the red you could see before, it’s now basically all gold all over.
“Tiny little upgrades, but I think the gold makes it a little bit cooler.”
