Lewis Hamilton will pay tribute to his idol Ayrton Senna this weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Interlagos. He will drive the McLaren MP4-5B that the Brazilian owned during the 1990 season after qualifying on Saturday, in front of the home crowd.
“Every time we come here it’s an opportunity to do it, and I think a lot of drivers do it too. But I never thought I would one day be able to drive Senna’s car here.” Hamilton said.
“I remember someone contacted me, my manager told me about it and I jumped at the chance. Back when I was at McLaren I had the chance to drive the MP4/4 at Silverstone, which was incredible.”
“Just the thought of driving this car here…I remember the races where he finally won here and held the flag. I remember the races where he finally won here and held the flag.”
He regrets that the information that he will ride the car was leaked earlier, because he had planned to make a surprise with a helmet in Senna’s colors: “It will definitely be a very emotional experience and I hope people will be there to see it. I had a helmet made, his helmet, I don’t know if we’ll use that one.”
“I think the initial hope was that it would be a surprise – I would have had an all white suit and his helmet, I would have gone out and walked around and it would have just looked like it was him that was there, but somehow it got out. It’s impossible to keep things a secret!
Asked about his ability to drive a car with a clutch and a gear lever, the seven-time world champion laughs: “I still do heel-toe! No, I was really good when I was younger and when I drove the MP4/4, I was able to do it back then.”
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