Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton raced with the logos of new sponsor Perplexity on his helmet for the first time at last weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.

It comes after the seven-time World Champion struck a personal deal with the AI company.

Perplexity branding appears on Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari helmet at Imola GP

Hamilton claimed his best result of the F1 2025 season at Imola, surging to fourth from 12th on the grid to better his previous best finish of fifth place, achieved in Bahrain last month.

The former Mercedes driver also won the Chinese GP sprint race in March, with Hamilton third in the mini race in Miami earlier this month.

It emerged ahead of the Emilia Romagna GP that Hamilton had added a new backer to his portfolio of personal sponsors, agreeing a lucrative deal with AI-powered answer engine Perplexity.

Reports claimed that Perplexity – valued at around $9billion – opted for a deal with Hamilton, arguably the biggest name in modern F1, over a partnership with an F1 team.

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And Hamilton was spotted sporting the logos of Perplexity for the first time at Imola, with his sponsor taking pride of place on the top surface of his crash helmet.

The placing of Perplexity’s logos meant it was visible during onboard footage of Hamilton’s Ferrari, located slightly above his race number #44.

After a disappointing start to his Ferrari career, Hamilton cut a re-energised figure after crossing the line in fourth place on Sunday, claiming the team will soon “be winning” if they can improve the qualifying pace of the SF-25 car.

Hamilton was heard saying to his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, over team radio: “Thanks so much, mate. Woo!

“What a great race, guys. Fantastic stops, strategy.

“The car felt great today. I’m so grateful, so proud. Grazie tutti. And the Tifosi, that was for them.

“Let’s keep pushing. If we get that qualifying better and we can race like that, then we’ll be winning.”

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Despite his limited success on track since arriving from Mercedes, Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari has already proven a commercial juggernaut since the turn of the year.

Ferrari apparel partner Puma claimed in March that it had seen an eightfold increase in sales of its Ferrari F1 merchandise since Hamilton joined the Scuderia at the turn of the year.

Hamilton hinted that many of his fans have followed him from Mercedes to Ferrari for F1 2025 as he raced in Italy for the first time as a Ferrari driver last weekend.

He told DAZN Spain: “I saw a lot of red caps [in the crowd] and it’s great to see many of the fans who supported me making this transition even if they loved Mercedes – and some still do.

“They told me: ‘It’s hard to make this change, it’s something new.’

“But I’m very proud. It’s been a mega day.”

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