'I'm holding back tears': Wolf merch divides Mercedes fans as F1 team boss debuts shocking new look

Mercedes

'I'm holding back tears': Wolf merch divides Mercedes fans as F1 team boss debuts shocking new look

Toto Wolff helped to model the new Mercedes release

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 19 March 2026 14:59

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Mercedes have recruited the help of F1 team principal Toto Wolff to model a brand new look for the Silver Arrows as the 2026 season gets underway, but fans are divided on the outcome.

Wolff's driver duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have taken a grand prix victory each in the opening two rounds of this year's championship, cementing their team as the ones to beat in 2026.

Away from the track, Russell and Antonelli have also been on hand to debut items from a brand new collaboration from Mercedes and their official kit provider adidas, although the new pieces of merchandise are far from the usual kit you might expect an F1 team to release.

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The new collection from Mercedes and Y-3, the luxury sportswear arm of adidas from Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto, was teased in an Instagram post where fans went wild for one man, Toto Wolff.

"Omg we need Toto modelling more often," one fan commented, as another simply wrote: "I'm holding back tears."

One social media user even called upon former Mercedes star and fashion icon Lewis Hamilton to weigh in on the rare promotional pictures that Wolff starred in, writing: "@lewishamilton thoughts on Toto here please."

But not all the social media users were convinced by the new creative collection, with the unique wolf animal graphics proving a rather dividing choice. "Okay this one might be the best one," declared one Mercedes follower, but their opinion was drowned out by the many wolf memes that flooded the comment section.

Whether the new Mercedes merch is your cup of tea or not, the pieces are now on sale via the adidas website. To browse the unconventional new collection of designer F1 kit from Y-3, click here.

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The new designer collection was released in full on March 19 ahead of the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, but it has been a long wait for fans who may have spotted the Y-3 pieces on the runway when they were first teased in June 2025 at Paris Fashion Week.

High ticket items were to be expected from the collection given the legendary status that Y-3 has as an adidas sub-label, headed up by Yamamoto.

The wacky Mercedes F1 short sleeve wolf graphic jersey is on sale for £130, whilst the long sleeve version featuring the iconic black and white adidas three stripe is available for £140.

The star of the new collection is undoubtedly the Y-3 Mercedes team jacket which, despite the incredibly pricey RRP of £700, has already sold out after being worn by Antonelli and Russell in the F1 paddock in the run up to the first races of the season.

Regardless of your personal opinions on the new kit, it is already flying off the shelves, with the Y-3 label perhaps making this new team kit more of a status purchase than a show of support for the Silver Arrows.

But F1 fans rarely get to show off their fashionable side, with the traditional look of team merchandise often being adopted by the majority of the paddock. So we shouldn't complain when a collaboration offers up something fresh.

My personal favourite from the designer release is the Y-3 Mercedes AMG F1 Yohji graphic long sleeve, which is still on sale for the retail price of £130- hardly daylight robbery when you consider some regular F1 merch goes for the same price without the designer affiliation.

Please note if you purchase anything from a product link on this page we may earn a small affiliate commission.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Mercedes George Russell Toto Wolff Kimi Antonelli