Verstappen brings cowboy-hat lion to Austin with Texas-themed COTA helmet

Max Verstappen will arrive at the Circuit of the Americas for the United States Grand Prix on 23-25 October sporting a custom Texas-themed helmet, complete with his iconic lion motif now topped with a cowboy hat against a white and blue background.

The four-time Formula 1 world champion unveiled the design on social media, writing: “Texas bound. I’ll be coming to Austin with this special helmet!” The post drew more than 747,000 likes, with fans quick to praise the cowboy-hat detail. “10s across the board — the lion with the cowboy hat is incredible,” one commenter wrote, while others called it “gorgeous” and “simply lovely.”

The red, white and blue colour scheme of Verstappen’s usual helmet has been retained throughout, with the cowboy hat serving as the headline flourish. To complement the look, Verstappen and Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar will also race in special all-white, vintage-style race suits for the Austin weekend. The new designs have fuelled fan speculation that Red Bull could run an all-white livery for the race, though the team has not confirmed any such plans.

Verstappen heads to Texas on the back of back-to-back victories at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia and the Singapore Grand Prix. He currently sits fourth in the drivers’ championship with 221 points, 119 adrift of leader Kimi Antonelli.

Before the COTA weekend, Verstappen is not taking the available rest break. He is competing in the GT World Challenge Europe finale at Portimao this weekend, sharing the Verstappen Racing No. 3 Mercedes-AMG with Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat.

The United States Grand Prix opens the next triple-header on the F1 calendar, with the Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix following in the two subsequent weeks.