Since Lando Norris was announced as part of British Vogue’s October 2025 issue, conversations around Formula One and fashion have intensified across paddocks and social media feeds. Yet this relationship is far from new. For decades, magazine editorials have positioned drivers as cultural figures, extending their influence well beyond the racetrack.
Formula One has always existed in the realm of spectacle. Its drivers appear not only on race weekends, but also in films, documentaries, red carpets, and the pages of fashion’s most prestigious publications. As magazine covers evolved into platforms shaping identity and taste, F1 naturally entered that conversation.
Few embody this crossover as powerfully as Lewis Hamilton. Renowned for his paddock walks as much as his lap times, Hamilton has consistently used fashion as self expression. Mixing luxury maisons with emerging designers, he has redefined what a racing driver can represent visually and politically within global culture.
His most iconic fashion moment arrived with Vogue’s May 2025 issue, released alongside the Met Gala. As one of the event’s co-chairs, Hamilton appeared on a series of special edition covers, a rare honor for an athlete. Styled by Ib Kamara and Eric McNeal, he anticipated the theme “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” wearing Ferragamo and Off-White before unveiling his now-historic Wales Bonner look.
That same year, Hamilton featured on multiple GQ covers, including the Summer 2025 issue alongside Damson Idris and Brad Pitt, promoting F1: The Movie. These appearances blurred boundaries between sport, cinema, and luxury fashion, reinforcing his presence as a creative force beyond racing.
Interestingly, the paddock felt quieter when Hamilton largely adopted Ferrari uniformity during the season. We suspect, via contract. His final walk at Abu Dhabi, however, reintroduced the desperate-needed fashion drama. Wearing Dior under Jonathan Anderson’s new creative direction, Hamilton revisited his longstanding relationship with the house. The oversized silhouette divided opinion, yet reaffirmed his commitment to experimentation.
Accessories completed the narrative: Ray-Ban sunglasses, his signature pearls, and a suede Dior bag from the Spring 2026 menswear collection.
Born in Stevenage in 1985, Hamilton’s legacy spans seven world titles, activism, media production, fashion dominance and cultural impact. Alongside emerging figures like Norris, he proves that Formula One drivers are no longer just competitors, but influential voices shaping modern style, representation, and culture far beyond the finish line.
