How well do you know the McLaren F1 ex-Ayrton Senna driven by Lewis Hamilton on the sidelines of the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix? Sport Auto goes back in time.
Who says Brazil et Formula 1, obviously says Ayrton Senna. Disappeared 30 years ago in the circumstances we know in Imola, the three-time world champion retains a place as strong as ever in the hearts of millions of people around the world, particularly in its pays natal.
Lewis Hamilton and Ayrton Senna, an intimately linked story
After the numerous initiatives in Emilia-Romagna, in Monaco or Silverstone, Ayrton Senna was again at the center of attention on the occasion of the coming of Formula 1 to Interlagosa track where the legend of São Paulo won twice, in 1991 then 1993. The opportunity was therefore too good for the queen discipline of pay a new tribute to the local hero in the form of an on-track demonstration.
And who better than Lewis Hamilton to take part in the exercise? The seven-time world champion has never hidden his immense admiration for the Brazilian champion, whom he equaled then broke records, as in Canada in 2017 when he received from the Senna family a yellow helmet to celebrate his 65ème pole position, as much at the time as his idol.
A few years later, the future Ferrari driver was invited to do several laps of the track, wet, at the wheel of one of the machines driven by Senna. An opportunity that the Briton had already received in 2012 by taking the wheel of the McLaren MP4/4 de 1988the time of a report of Top Gear on the circuit of Silverstone.
Which McLaren ex-Senna was driven by Hamilton in Brazil?
For last weekend's tribute, it was again in the seat of a McLaren that Hamilton slipped in front of tens of thousands of wild fans. It was about the MP4/5Bdriven in 1990 by Senna and his new teammate at the time, the Austrian Gerhard Berger, replacement of a Alain Prost left in disgrace for Ferrari, his third world title under his arm after the heated finale of Suzuka.
Built on carbon-molded Kevlar monohull, the MP4/5B is powered by the famous Honda V10 engine atmospheric, developed by Japanese engineers for a second season in a row after the removal of turbocharged enginesintroduced in F1 by Renault, at Silverstone in 1977, and developed towards spheres of power still unmatched until 1988.
Producer 690 horsepower from its 3.5 liter displacement architecturethe Japanese block allowed Senna and Berger to accumulate a nice track record with six victories (all signed by the Brazilian), 12 poles (10 for Senna, 2 for Berger), and 5 best tricks (3 for Berger, 2 for Senna).
The Austrian finished the season in fourth place while the Paulist took a brilliant revenge on Prost by recovering the world title from the first meters of a Japanese Grand Prix and a accident also passed to posterity. But that's another story…
