Mercedes unveils purple race suits for São Paulo with a nod to Senna and Piquet

Mercedes will trade its usual black and turquoise for purple at this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix. Kimi Antonelli and George Russell will wear the special race suits in every session. The team revealed them on Tuesday at Nubank Parque, Palmeiras’ stadium in São Paulo, as part of its partnership with Brazilian bank Nubank.

The suits borrow from designs worn in the 1980s and 1990s, the period when Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna won their titles. An accompanying launch film is narrated by actor Gabriel Leone, who played Senna in Netflix’s series about the three-time champion. Its soundtrack is *Tema da Vitória*, the music TV Globo played when Brazilian drivers won in Formula 1 and a theme closely tied to Senna’s career.

The shades also carry Nubank branding: the darker one comes from its Ultravioleta premium card, while the lighter represents its largest customer base. Mercedes has used purple once before this season: the Miami Grand Prix in May featured a different suit on each of the weekend’s three days, and Antonelli later won the race. São Paulo is the team’s second such outing in 2026.

The suits will also go on display at Nubank House, a free exhibition for the bank’s customers at the stadium that runs through Sunday. It includes a replica W17 and a race suit Lewis Hamilton wore in 2021. Mercedes can clinch the constructors’ championship at Interlagos on Sunday if things go its way.