Verstappen to get a new look ahead of European calendar

Championship leader Max Verstappen will don a new helmet for the brunt of the European calendar to commemorate his Dutch supporters, beginning at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

While two races have already been held in Europe this season – in Italy and Monaco – the race in Barcelona kicks off the glut of races on the continent over the summer months.

Famously supported by his supporters in orange, Verstappen will wear a helmet of the same colour over the busy period, with the first of three races in as many weekends.

Verstappen was a comfortable winner at the Circuit de Catalunya last year, beating Lewis Hamilton by nearly 30 seconds, and after his rivals have closed in in recent races, the Red Bull Racing man hopes his new helmet will bring him some additional luck over the next few weeks.

“Barcelona will be the first race where I will be debuting my new orange helmet,” he confirmed. “As a tribute to my fans and all of their support, they are actually featured on helmet and I think the final design looks really cool and detailed. I have great memories from the circuit, especially winning my first Formula One race there.

“We are aiming to keep the momentum going from Canada.”

Team-mate Sergio Perez is also looking for better luck after he crashed out of a second race in succession last time out.

He said: “Coming into Spain I know I need a successful weekend, after a disaster in Canada. Sometimes you are forced to reset a little and we have done that since the last race.”