The 2025 F1 season is edging closer and F1 events are already underway. Which means that one of Mercedes’ latest hires, its fashion manager, has been busy at work keeping the team’s two drivers, George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, looking good. “She [the stylist] doesn’t pick my outfit every day, but she sends me some ideas,” Antonelli said.
“Actually, my mum is also my stylist,” the F1 rookie admits. “Most of the time she doesn’t like the combination I wear — she’s always fixing my clothes. Sometimes when we’re about to go out for dinner with my family she says, ‘Oh no, you need to go change.’ So she’s my proper stylist.” Antonelli and his mother are even redesigning his wardrobe to accommodate a shipment of the team’s new Adidas-made gear — a half-dozen overflowing boxes-worth, which recently arrived at his doorstep.
Russell and Antonelli are embracing the growing role that fashion plays in the sport — taking on a torch proudly carried by Lewis Hamilton. “Fashion wasn’t a big part of my life,” Russell confessed when I spoke to him at the Mercedes-AMG F1 x Adidas collection launch earlier this month. “It was only over the past few years that I realized the positive impact it has on you if you’re wearing clothes you feel confident in, that make you feel better and stand a bit taller.”
That put a little pressure on Adidas to nail the collection, some 150-pieces strong and produced, from design to doorstep, in only eight months. (Consider that a brand like Adidas generally works a year or more ahead.)
“Our brand has a good history and great knowledge around fashionable items. We’re asking how we can bridge that into F1 and combine the sport with the streetwear factor and the culture borne out that,” said Michael Batz, Vice President of Apparel at Adidas. “Usually in F1 it's a cap and a driver tee, but we also want to create desirable styles that are iconic, like paddock jackets.”
The collection also made news for having more than just the usual fan gear. Adidas spent time in Mercedes’ Brackley factory or on the road, observing the needs of everyone on the team, from the pit crew to the hospitality team.
“For example, we looked at the mechanics and where they put all of their radios,” said Batz. “We asked, ‘Can we make things better when they dismantle the car lying on the floor?’ Then we noticed they have sponsors on the back [of their shirts] and they're potentially rubbing on the floor,” he went on. “These are things you only find out when you closely monitor, listen to and get feedback from the team, which then [informs] the final product.”
As a result, for the first time ever, team members will wear clothing formulated specifically for their role: mechanics will don shirts with sweat-wicking technology while marketing staffers will stride through the paddock in sneakers designed to endure the 30,000-step marathon that is race day. The uniform will also evolve throughout the season to incorporate bold new hues and innovative fabrics, accompanied by limited-edition drops for fans who want to dress the part.
I asked Batz if Adidas would ever consider launching a signature shoe named after George Russell or Kimi Antonelli, the way LeBron James or Lionel Messi have had for so long. After all, race boot-inspired kicks are more popular now than they have been in decades.
“It's definitely an opportunity we see in so many other sports with a lot of fan dedication and fan engagement,” he said, noting the team hasn’t ruled anything out as they continue innovating. “It’s an opportunity to look into.”
Depending on how his next few seasons go, maybe Antonelli’s mom will be dressing him in signature “Kimi” Sambas soon enough.
