Lewis Hamilton said it was the “greatest honour” of his Formula 1 career to take a title-winning Ayrton Senna car for a spin on the Interlagos track.
On Sunday, between qualifying and the Brazilian Grand Prix proper, the seven-time F1 champion got behind the wheel of the McLaren MP4/5B used by Senna in the 1990 season. Despite wet weather in Sao Paulo, he managed to complete a few laps before parking up on on the main straight.
The Interlagos crowd roared the whole time he was out on track in the Brazilian hero’s old car. And, after Hamilton climbed out of the car, there was a huge cheer again before he described what it had meant to him to drive the machine.
“It is very, very emotional,” he said. “I was just revisiting my childhood, watching Ayrton racing here and hearing that sound and watching him drive here to win that race. I just cannot believe that I had the chance to do that.”
Hamilton was due to drive the car on Saturday after qualifying for the Grand Prix. But thunderstorms and heavy rain saw the session delayed by two hours until it was postponed until Sunday morning, sparking fears he would not be able to complete the showrun.
So he was even more delighted that he could – and that the fans turned up bright and early to watch qualifying and the special moment with Senna’s car on track. The Mercedes driver added: “It was really the greatest honour of my career to do it here in front of this beautiful crowd here in Brazil, who stood out in the rain all day yesterday and then have been here since 4am this morning.
“I really love Brazil and I love the people. To have my citizenship here is such a huge honour. I hope Senna can be proud. That was the best drive of the whole weekend. Thank you to everyone for taking a pause for this moment and allowing me this real honour for my career.
“This will probably never happen again so I will definitely cherish this moment. I did not want to stop, I did one or two more laps than I was supposed to. That is a real racing car – I would race that today if I could! It would be my pleasure. Obrigado to everyone here in Brazil.”
Hamilton’s showrun went a lot better than qualifying did as he suffered a second Q1 exit in three weeks. He was 16th at the end of that first part of the session but will rise up the starting grid thanks to a penalty for Max Verstappen, while Alex Albon also said he would not be starting the race due to extensive damage he suffered in a crash in Q3.
Brazilian fans in Sao Paulo went wild when Lewis Hamilton took to the Interlagos track in Ayrton Senna’s old McLaren MP4/5B car, in which he won the 1990 F1 title
Lewis Hamilton said it was the “greatest honour” of his Formula 1 career to take a title-winning Ayrton Senna car for a spin on the Interlagos track.
On Sunday, between qualifying and the Brazilian Grand Prix proper, the seven-time F1 champion got behind the wheel of the McLaren MP4/5B used by Senna in the 1990 season. Despite wet weather in Sao Paulo, he managed to complete a few laps before parking up on on the main straight.
The Interlagos crowd roared the whole time he was out on track in the Brazilian hero’s old car. And, after Hamilton climbed out of the car, there was a huge cheer again before he described what it had meant to him to drive the machine.
“It is very, very emotional,” he said. “I was just revisiting my childhood, watching Ayrton racing here and hearing that sound and watching him drive here to win that race. I just cannot believe that I had the chance to do that.”
Hamilton was due to drive the car on Saturday after qualifying for the Grand Prix. But thunderstorms and heavy rain saw the session delayed by two hours until it was postponed until Sunday morning, sparking fears he would not be able to complete the showrun.
So he was even more delighted that he could – and that the fans turned up bright and early to watch qualifying and the special moment with Senna’s car on track. The Mercedes driver added: “It was really the greatest honour of my career to do it here in front of this beautiful crowd here in Brazil, who stood out in the rain all day yesterday and then have been here since 4am this morning.
“I really love Brazil and I love the people. To have my citizenship here is such a huge honour. I hope Senna can be proud. That was the best drive of the whole weekend. Thank you to everyone for taking a pause for this moment and allowing me this real honour for my career.
“This will probably never happen again so I will definitely cherish this moment. I did not want to stop, I did one or two more laps than I was supposed to. That is a real racing car – I would race that today if I could! It would be my pleasure. Obrigado to everyone here in Brazil.”
Hamilton’s showrun went a lot better than qualifying did as he suffered a second Q1 exit in three weeks. He was 16th at the end of that first part of the session but will rise up the starting grid thanks to a penalty for Max Verstappen, while Alex Albon also said he would not be starting the race due to extensive damage he suffered in a crash in Q3.
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