Lewis Hamilton certainly knows how to draw a crowd. On Monday evening, the seven-time world champion hosted a party at the Virgin Hotel in New York for celebrities and Formula 1 fans to honor the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 and WhatsApp relationship, which was announced in November 2023.
Hamilton was accompanied by Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ CEO and team principal, as well as Cynthia Eviro, Rauw Alejandro, Danny Ramirez, Eric Nam, Tyrod Taylor, Young Mazino, Jadon Haselwood, and others.
The British race driver was seen conversing with Wolff, Alejandro, and others throughout the evening, dressed casually in Tommy Hilfiger’s bomber jacket, T-shirt, and trousers. (The company sponsors the Mercedes F1 team and has collaborated on multiple collections with Hamilton.)
WhatsApp and Mercedes collaborated to introduce a new race car emoji based on the 2024 Mercedes automobile to the private messaging service’s approximately 2 billion users worldwide. To commemorate the rise of both the messaging service and Formula One in the United States, the partners illuminated the Empire State Building in the private messaging service’s trademark green color.
Guests enjoyed Formula 1-themed cocktails including “The Hairpin” and “Green Sector” while listening to DJ Amrit Tietz’s tracks. After lighting the Empire State Building green, party goers were treated to a dynamic light show that took over the building’s facade, featuring an animated projection of the emoji race car over New York, complemented by WhatsApp’s “ping” notification sounds.
Ahead of his final Miami race with Mercedes before joining Ferrari, Hamilton spoke with WWD about the process that goes into his sartorial selections, which are fashioned by Eric McNeal.
“There’s a lot of planning,” Hamilton explained. “Ultimately, I’m looking at businesses I admire. I try to interact with designers, and they create personalized things, which is always fantastic. In each region I visit, I enjoy using my platform to spotlight emerging designers. There are many possibilities, but I only have four days, and you can only wear so much on the track. And then I had to get back into the [team’s racing] gear. I wished there were more days.
“Climate also makes a big difference,” Hamilton explained. “I’ve been to Bahrain and the Middle East, wore really warm clothing, and was dying for the 30 seconds I was walking down to the track.” “But that is the cost of fashion.”
Hamilton, a New York native, expressed his delight at F1’s renewed popularity in the United States.
“This is my favorite city.” Growing up and watching movies, this is where I always wanted to come and live — not fully realized yet since it’s impossible with the [Mercedes] team in the U.K. and all the traveling for races in Europe,” he explained.
“Seeing the sport finally gain popularity in the United States is a dream come true. I used to come out here when I was eight. When I got to Formula 1, I came out here and couldn’t understand why people were major sports fans but no one was watching Formula 1. There was such a little number of people here. It’s been fantastic to see it integrated into the sporting community here, and there are now three races.”
Continuing the collaboration festivities on Tuesday morning, Mercedes and WhatsApp closed Fifth Avenue in front of the Empire State Building for the first Formula 1 car display in New York. Hamilton was behind the wheel to deliver peak speeds, flying laps, and pit stops to the famed avenue, alongside a WhatsApp emoji racecar replica.
