P1: Lewis Hamilton  

For ages, Hamilton remained an outlier on morning walks to the paddock. The seven-time world champion certainly wasn’t fazed by sneers from pundits and fans, and over time, has spearheaded something of a revolution with his fashion choices in his seventeen-odd years of F1 racing.  

After a long association with image architect and celebrity stylist Law Roach, who retired last May, the 39-year-old now works with independent stylist Eric McNeal. Both Hamilton and McNeal often opt to work with young designers of colour, such as Bianca Saunders and Daily Paper, crafting a personal look book for Lewis that continues to evolve beyond Roach’s influence, breaking its own rules with every public appearance. “I love being able to separate from the sport, and the intensity of this whole season is difficult for everyone that's at the track,” he told F1 media back in 2021. “So, to be able to have something else, another outlet, that you can focus on helps take the weight off it."  

Last season, Hamilton played with fits both casual and avant-garde — but Bahrain’s first appearance really got the paparazzi going. Soon after setting the press ablaze with news of a 2025 Ferrari contract, Hamilton leaned heavily into his future in Italy by going all out with a studded piece from Gucci’s 2024 Fall collection.

P2: Zhou Guanyu  

“I’ve always had a fashion sense with me,” Guanyu said in an interview with Jalopnik during the United States Grand Prix in 2022. “When you jump into Formula 1, though, it grows massively.” This might be an understatement, given the off-track attention he’s garnered since his rookie season. Guyanyu is now a regular staple on some of Asia’s biggest magazine covers. 

His paddock fashion quotient seems to take inspiration from Hamilton. But unlike the Mercedes stalwart, Guanyu opts to pick and choose most of his pieces himself, ditching the stylist and opting for comfortable, slick fits with tasteful footwear often serving as his statement pieces. Though he stuck to a simple light grey jacket with camo pants for his Bahrain intro, the Stake F1 driver recently dropped jaws after a cover shoot for Elle Men China going all-black-everything for a change. We likey. 

P3: Lando Norris  

While he usually preaches at the altar of modern street-casual wear, the McLaren driver isn’t always found in fun hoodies and loose prints. Norris is often playing with a variety of hypebeast elements on his outfits, mixing and matching bright colours with functional accessories such as his own collaborative collection with TUMI and a personal favourite of his — colourful bucket hats, donned with prints that range from tropical foliage to the Union Jack and even the personal logo of MotoGP legend Valentino ‘The Doctor’ Rossi. Norris played it straight this week in Bahrain, arriving in an all-white zipped sweater and sweatpants combo, finished off with a well-worn pair of Nike Air Force Ones.

P4: Valterri Bottas  

Though Bottas seems to have plummeted in terms of racing prestige ever since he was dropped from Mercedes, we have to give the Finn chops for channelling his inner Aussie across 2023 and into 2024 — a few risqué shoots and laidback socks-and-sandals looks down the line, and the moustache-mullet combo speaks for itself. Fans certainly seem divided, with some hurling ‘pornstache’ accusations at Bottas in what seems to be the twilight of his career. Still, we urge them to leave the man alone and get a beer in his hand, stat. 

P5: Charles Leclerc  

Last year, we may have dragged F1’s best boy through the dirt for his overreliance on tacky tees and sweatshirts; there’s only so far you can go when every other outfit comes splashed with brand logos. The 2023-2024 period seems to have been one of great personal change for Leclerc both on and off the track — despite not winning a single race, he’s made a sincere effort to experiment with unique prints that evolve his casual, laidback street style. He’s also taken the trouble to add leather and steel bracelets, along with rings to his accessories list, giving the Richard Milles a well-deserved break from the spotlight.