Mad Dog Jones on his Puma x Mercedes collab and Lewis Hamilton

On a Formula 1 track, collisions are always bad. Off-track, we’re seeing the worlds of fashion and racing collide more often than ever, and reaping the benefits. Nearly every driver has his own merch line, the world’s most coveted watch brands are developing rare F1-inspired pieces, and teams are realizing that the collaborations that elevated streetwear into a global phenomenon are there for the taking. Which explains how Michah Dowbak, better known as artist Mad Dog Jones, came to design a special collection with Puma and Mercedes AMG. 

For the Mad Dog Jones x Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 x Puma collection, the Canadian-born Dowbak brought his “hyper-metropolitan” pop-art sensibility to a whole range of Puma pieces, from hats and slides to woven jackets and (of course) sneakers. It’s a riot of heat-map swirls and Miami-inflected pastels (which makes sense, since the collection debuted for that race), with Dowbak’s “MDJ” logo owning the spotlight. Some pieces have direct influence from Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, and you can see where their personal styles mixed with Dowbak’s. Overall, it’s a collection that pushes the average F1-inspired merch drop another step forward. 

Dowbak talked to Motorsport about the inspiration of liveries flying by at F1 speeds, what it’s like collaborating with Lewis Hamilton, and making hats for 40 years from now.

How did you get into Motorsports?

Dowbak: I grew up in a small town in the country in Canada, so we never had cable TV—we always just had the bunny ears. Whatever you could get on the antennas was what we would watch. We could watch some of the old Jacques Villeneuve races. And then, of course, the old Schumacher days, in awe of the raw talent. When you’re growing up, the danger level is really cool and exciting. 

And for me, the aesthetics of the car design has always been so cool. As I grew up, I continued following [Formula 1]…and really just became really interested in livery design and logo design as I moved into my art career more. It has this really kinetic feel to it—the speed and the movement. It brings so much to a design perspective, because everything’s constantly in motion. You get all these cool angles and all these cool combinations. As cars pass each other, you’re like, oh, that livery next to the other livery looks cool. There’s all these really interesting frameworks that really just makes it exciting.

Are there any liveries that you…