Lewis Hamilton on Senna: “The greatest honor of my career”
Last Sunday, during the Brazilian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton had the opportunity to drive the car of his childhood idol, Ayrton Senna, to pay tribute to him through several honor laps. A particularly moving moment for the Briton, which he describes as the most significant of his career.
Lewis Hamilton experienced an emotional moment last Sunday before the Brazilian Grand Prix, by taking the wheel of Ayrton Senna’s legendary McLaren MP4/5B on the Interlagos circuit.
A moving tribute to Hamilton and the fans.
The seven-time British champion had the privilege of driving the car that allowed Senna to win one of his three world titles in 1990, beating his rival Alain Prost.
In the stands, spectators were visibly moved as Hamilton, as a sign of respect, knelt in front of the car. Wearing a white suit reminiscent of Senna’s, he completed several laps in a fine rain, waving the Brazilian flag in tribute to his idol.
The scene was greeted by a checkered flag waved by the Brazilian Olympic champion Rebeca Andrade, adding a symbolic touch to this tribute.
« It’s very moving, of course. I am diving back into my childhood when I watched Ayrton run here. It’s the greatest honor of my career to do it in front of this incredible crowd in Brazil,” Hamilton said, with the Brazilian flag wrapped around his shoulders.
Since being made an honorary citizen of Brazil in 2022, Hamilton has maintained an even stronger connection with the country, adding that this moment will remain engraved as one of the most significant of his career.
Social media allowed the British driver to share his feelings live with his fans, even though the weekend did not go as planned for him in terms of sports.
Apparently in search of positivity despite the difficulties encountered with Mercedes this season, Hamilton joked that he had just completed the best race of the weekend driving Senna’s car.
Referring to his memories on this track, he added: “I won my first championship here, had my best race here. Being here as a honorary citizen, and driving my hero’s car, it’s almost unreal.”
Hamilton’s choice did not meet with unanimous approval.
This choice to pay tribute to Senna through Hamilton has elicited mixed reactions.
Rubens Barrichello, former Brazilian driver, estimated that this honor should have gone to a local driver who had raced alongside Senna in F1. Double champion Emerson Fittipaldi also expressed reservations, describing this decision as inappropriate.
On the contrary, Felipe Massa, former rival of Hamilton and loser of the 2008 title against him at Interlagos, defended this initiative: « Of course, I would have liked to drive this car myself, but I respect the decision of the Senna family. Fans will be delighted to see a passionate admirer of Ayrton like Lewis at the controls of this legend.
Hamilton is not the first Formula 1 driver to pay tribute to Senna this year. Sebastian Vettel also drove a McLaren of Senna, the MP4/8 from 1993, during a special event at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in memory of the 30th anniversary of the tragic death of the Brazilian triple champion.
As Hamilton is about to join Ferrari next season, this tribute marks a moment of reflection and celebration of the legacy of one of the greatest drivers of all time.
