It is this Saturday after the Sprint race in Sao Paulo that Lewis Hamilton will get behind the wheel of a McLaren to pay tribute to local hero Ayrton Senna: the MP4/5B from 1990, the year of his second title.
At 5 p.m. local time tomorrow (9 p.m. in France), the V10 Honda engine of the car in its legendary red and white colors will roar again on the heights of Interlagos.
Lewis Hamilton will pay tribute to his idol Ayrton Senna by performing a few demonstration laps to the delight of the public.
The Brazilian champion greatly inspired Hamilton in his youth, to the point of seeing him adopt the same yellow color for his helmet when he raced in karting.
A moving experience
“Every time we come to Brazil the opportunity presents itself to pay tribute to him, but I never thought I would one day be able to drive Senna's car here, said Sir Lewis. Someone contacted me, my manager told me about it and I jumped at the chance. When I was at McLaren, I had the chance to drive the MP4/4 at Silverstone, which was already incredible.”
“I remember the races where Ayrton finally won here and held the flag, he remembers. It will definitely be a very emotional experience and I hope people will be there to see it. I had a helmet made identical to his, I don't know if we'll use that one.”
No surprises…
“The initial plan was for it to be a surprise,
he specifies. I would have had an all white jumpsuit and his helmet, I would have walked around and it would have just looked like it was him who was there, but unfortunately the information was released. It’s impossible to keep things a secret these days!”
Getting back behind the wheel of an older generation car with a clutch and manual gearbox does not worry the seven-time world champion: “I still do heel-toe! I was really good when I was younger and when I drove the MP4/4 I felt very comfortable in its cockpit.”
France
