Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton drives Ayrton Senna‘s 1993 McLaren this GP weekend in Brazil. The charismatic Senna remains unforgotten thirty years after his death.
On May 1st 1994 we lost Ayrton Senna. The fascination for the Brazilian continues to this day, especially in his hometown of São Paulo.
We have to imagine this: 30 years after the death of the exceptional Brazilian racer, we see, most notably in Japan and Brazil – people in Senna shirts and caps, countless banners and pennants, visitors with McLaren Honda models, everything like that , as if Senna were still at the start today.
The fans’ memories are most vivid in São Paulo and Suzuka, but on our trip around the world as Formula 1 reporters we discover fans all over the world who want to show – we haven’t forgotten Ayrton Senna.
This is a phenomenon that is unique beyond the boundaries of motorsport: in how many ski races do we discover references to the former heroes on two crossbars? In how many US stadiums do visitors so faithfully remember heroes from baseball or American football? In how many football arenas are fans wearing Pelé shirts today?
I always have to smile a little about how wasteful we are with superlatives. Today, anyone who can formulate an error-free sentence in a reality format or advances to the motto show phase in “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” (aha!) is made a star. Whoever wins remains virtually unknown beyond the borders of German-speaking Europe, RTL or not. Sorry, but I define superstar a little differently.
For me, superstar is a person who is immediately recognized worldwide; a person who has really achieved something; a person with charisma, a person like Ayrton Senna.
The Brazilian exuded what people said about Juan Manuel Fangio – a very specific aura. When Fangio or Senna entered the room, people automatically turned around. When they spoke, both in the same quiet language, people listened spellbound.
This year Formula 1 paid tribute to Ayrton Senna, who lost his life in Imola thirty years ago. Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel drove a McLaren MP4/5B around the Italian circuit on the Imola GP weekend.
Another world champion is now driving exactly this vehicle owned by the German as part of the Brazilian GP weekend: On Saturday, November 2nd, Lewis Hamilton will take to the Interlagos track in Senna’s honor.
Under the slogan “Senna Semper” (meaning: Senna forever), Lewis Hamilton will drive around the circuit where Senna was celebrated by his Brazilian fans at 5 p.m. local time (9 p.m. in Europe).
Lewis Hamilton has never made a secret about who his role model was – Ayrton Senna, of course. “I would have dreamed of driving his racing car here, of all places, one day. And now it’s coming true, it’s unreal.”
Even today, world champions like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso describe Senna as their idol, and so do representatives of the youngest generation of GP drivers, like the Argentinian Franco Colapinto.
For my part, I’m just proud that I was able to watch Ayrton Senna at work. His qualifying laps were unbelievable – when he went onto the track at the end of Saturday training, everyone knew: Something magical was about to happen.
This is a superstar.
