Lewis Hamilton said driving Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/5B at Interlagos was “very emotional” and “the greatest honour of my career.”
Hamilton, who was made an honorary Brazilian citizen in 2022, drove demonstration laps in the McLaren at Senna’s home circuit after qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday.
This year marks 30 years since Senna died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
The iconic car was used by Senna to secure his second career world championship and was also the first F1 car he raced at Interlagos, when he finished third at the 1990 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Hamilton said afterwards: “It’s very emotional. I was just revisiting my childhood as I was watching Ayrton race here as a kid, hearing that sound and watching him drive here and winning in that race.
“I just couldn’t believe that I just had that chance to do that. And it was really the greatest honour of my career to do it in front of this beautiful crowd here in Brazil who stood out in the rain all day yesterday, and have been here since 4:00 a.m. or 3:00 a.m. this morning.”
Hamilton, who had a special white race suit and helmet made for the occasion, said it was an honour to get the opportunity: “I really love Brazil and I really love the people and I’m so grateful. To even have my citizenship here is such a huge honour. So 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 is honestly a real honour for my career. And you know, this probably will never ever happen again. So I’ll definitely cherish the moment. That’s why I didn’t stop. I did one or two more laps more than I was supposed to.
“That’s a real racing car. I would race that today if I could. It would be my pleasure. But yeah, obrigado [thanks] to everyone here in Brazil.”
Source: www.espn.com