Sebastián Montoya on his Colombia inspired race suit and supporting Maluma’s new album on his helmet

Sebastián Montoya spoke about supporting Colombia with his race suit and Maluma's latest album on his helmet

For the keen observers you may have noticed that Sebastián Montoya had been sporting a new look on track recently.

The PREMA Racing driver had been wearing a new helmet in support of Colombian artist Maluma and the release of his latest album Loco X Volver.

Montoya also had a new Colombia inspired race suit, with their men’s football team having taken part in this summer’s football World Cup.

Recently, he sat down to talk about the inspiration behind his new look, the details on the helmet and suit, and what it is like to support his country on a global stage.

SUPPORTING MALUMA’S NEW ALBUM

“I've got the helmet with Maluma, who is launching his new album, Loco X Volver. It was a design that we've been wanting to do with them for the past year and a half, and we hadn't been able to get the right opportunity to do something.

“The design in the back is like my dad's 2003 helmet when he won, and then obviously the red for his album. I think it's really nice because it shares a lot of special messages and represents a lot of where we come from in Colombia.

Montoya had been supporting Colombian artist Maluma on the release of his new album on his helmet

“On the left side, the +57, which is the area code for Colombia. It's also the name of the song, and a bunch of artists came together to talk about Made in Colombia. Here at the top, you have the album image, and here at the front you have the logos as well.

“We have my name at the top, his name at the bottom, Maluma, and then in the back, it's a saying con corazon y pa’lante, which means with heart and moving forward. It’s a message he said to people because he struggled a lot with the fame and everything else at a certain point, and through those tough times, what got him through is just doing everything by heart.

“That's the same message that my dad has always said to me. You have to love what you're doing and just keep moving forward, just keep going through it, it's going to get better. That's the message that we want to portray to everyone.”

HOW EVERYTHING CAME TOGETHER WITH MALUMA

“I'm a really big fan of music, and Maluma really likes cars. He has a cool car collection in Medellin, and they've been wanting to do something with Colombians outside of Colombia, not only artists, but also athletes and different people that are showing the country to the rest of the world.

“My team reached out to them last year, they were really interested but we never found the opportunity, and now finally having this opportunity and doing it together for me is awesome.

“It shows that we really support each other, it doesn't matter if it's in motorsports, or if it's in music, whatever Colombians are doing around the world, we support each other and we want the best for each other, and I think that's kind of the message that we're portraying here.”

Montoya had been wearing a Colombian football inspired race suit in recent rounds

COLLABORATION WITH THE MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM

“Last year I had the special helmet with the Colombian Soccer Federation for their 100th-year celebration, and this year we wanted to do something for the World Cup.

“So on the gloves, you can see the print of the shirt in the logo, the same with the fingertip, and with my boots, the three stripes on the side, I've changed it to be the Colombian colours, yellow, blue, and red, and I think they look awesome.

“It's my favourite thing about the shoes, and then obviously the suit, the full yellow, and the Montoya on the back with the number 11, just as the players will have it when they're on the pitch, the whole thing came together really nice.”

SUPPORTING THE TEAM

“It means a lot. I have a lot of special memories from the 2014 World Cup, that was awesome. We didn’t make it to Qatar but the past couple of years Colombia has gone through a reformation.

“We showed what we can do getting to the Copa America final, fighting against Messi's Argentina that won the World Cup and then proceeded to win Copa America, but still making the final, for me it's really special.

Montoya talked about how Colombia's love for motorsport has come back in recent times

“In Colombia, football is the biggest sport, but in recent years as I've gone up the ladder, the love for motorsports has started to awaken again. So to see this crossover between both sports is awesome.

“A lot of people who grew watching my dad are now watching me and supporting me in where I want to get to in Formula 1. So it’s awesome to share that with them and it's awesome to see these collaborations come to life.

“Thank you to Adidas, to Maluma as well for the helmet, the Colombian Soccer Federation for making this happen, and Aguila.

“Thanks to them because they make it possible to show not only myself but also the Colombian people that whatever you want to do, you can make it. You just need a dream, to work hard and everything will come together.”

REPRESENTING COLOMBIA

“It's really special because the first person to really do it internationally at such a high level was my dad. Seeing my dad, what he did and his journey for me is something beautiful.

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