Mercedes to wear purple race suits at the Brazilian Grand Prix

Mercedes has confirmed that Kimi Antonelli and George Russell will wear purple race suits at the Brazilian Grand Prix. The pair will use them in every session of the weekend, replacing their usual black and turquoise outfits.

Unveiled on Tuesday at Nubank Parque in São Paulo, the design is part of the team’s partnership with Brazilian bank Nubank. The venue is the football stadium of Palmeiras. The campaign accompanying the reveal carries the slogan “Inspired by the Golden Era, Built for the New Era”.

Designed by Mercedes, the suits draw on those worn in the 1980s and 1990s, when Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna won their titles. The reveal also came with a film featuring both drivers and narrated by Gabriel Leone, who portrayed Senna in Netflix’s series about the three-time champion. Its soundtrack uses Tema da Vitoria, the music TV Globo played when Brazilian drivers won in Formula 1, which is closely associated with Senna’s career.

Kimi Antonelli summed up the new look in a post on Instagram: “Inspired by the past. Built for the New. Welcome to the Nu Era.”

Victoria Johnson, Mercedes’ marketing operations chief, said the response to the purple suits had encouraged the team to take the idea further in São Paulo. She described the partnership with Nu as a way to bring fans closer to the team, and the suits as a combination of the brand’s distinctive identity with Mercedes’ own, while celebrating Brazil’s passion for Formula 1. She also pointed to the reaction to the team’s purple suits in Miami earlier this year.

Nubank co-founder Cristina Junqueira said the São Paulo Grand Prix was special for Brazilians and for the bank, which was founded in the city. Nubank also says interest in Formula 1 is growing quickly in Brazil. Ibope figures put the Brazilian audience for the first 10 races of 2026 at 52.8 million, already above the total for all of 2025, the company said.