Lewis Hamilton braced for ‘emotional’ Ayrton Senna McLaren F1 car tribute run

Lewis Hamilton says it will be an “emotional experience” to drive Ayrton Senna’s championship winning McLaren F1 car in Brazil.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton will get behind the wheel of the McLaren MP4/5b which Senna drove to his second world title in 1990 for a demonstration run paying tribute to the Brazilian at Interlagos on Saturday afternoon.

Hamilton, who previously drove Senna’s MP4/4 at Silverstone during his McLaren days, grew up idolising the three-time world champion, who was tragically killed in a crash 30 years ago at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

“I love coming here,” Hamilton, who became an honorary citizen of Brazil in 2022, said of returning to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. “I’ve been really excited about the trip and just getting back.

“Every opportunity I get to spend time here, you learn more about the culture and able to engage more. It's the colours, it’s Ayrton, it’s the culture of the people. You just vibe off that for the whole weekend.

“I never in a million years thought I’d ever get to drive Senna’s car here. When my manager told me about it, I jumped at the opportunity.  Back in the day at McLaren, I did get the chance to drive the MP4/4 around Silverstone, which was incredible.

"Just the thought of driving that car around here - I remember the races when he won here and held the flag. It will definitely be quite an emotional experience and I hope people are here to see it.

“I had a helmet made - his helmet made for me - but I don’t know if we’re using that. The initial hope is that it would be a surprise. I had a whole white suit and his helmet and would go out and drive the lap and it would just look like it was him out there.

“But somehow it got out there. It’s impossible to keep things quiet.”