Lewis Hamilton heads into Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix knowing he has the love and support of the family of his racing hero.
Three-time champion Ayrton Senna has long been the Briton’s idol, with the Brazilian’s death in 1994 leaving a nine-year-old Hamilton in tears.
The yellow helmet worn by Hamilton over the years, apart from making him visible to father Anthony during his karting days, is also in homage to one of Brazil’s all-time sporting greats.
This is why I love Brazil! http://t.co/Eyt9lJUKaW #BrazilianGP #Brazil #AyrtonSenna #F1 @bbcf1 pic.twitter.com/7zZXcFZGKG
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) November 7, 2014
This week Hamilton had the honour of meeting one of Senna’s nieces, Paula, who provided him with a message.
Explaining Senna’s influence on his career even now, Hamilton said: “When I was younger I put on this one particular (Senna) video, ‘Racing Is In My Blood’, that I watched God knows how many times.
“He really inspired me as a kid and he still does today. I’ve always said I’d love to emulate him as a driver. The fact every now and then someone may mention my name in the same sentence as his, I feel really proud and honoured by that.
“I come here and I still feel his presence now. It’s amazing he still lives on through his fans, the country. It’s one of the most special things I’ve ever seen anywhere.
“What was really nice is that I met his niece this week and I got some really positive feedback. She told me his mum (Neide) is a fan, which is amazing, so I can only take positives from that.”
Hamilton is confident he will have the support of the Brazilian crowd tomorrow at Interlagos, as he resumes his title fight with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
That is in stark contrast to six years ago when Hamilton went head-to-head with Brazilian Felipe Massa – who was then with Ferrari – for the title, coming out on top in the most dramatic of circumstances.
“Back then I felt it was sunny everywhere, but I had this black cloud over me, it was raining and no matter which way I moved this cloud was still raining on me,” reflected Hamilton.
“It was obviously a really intense weekend because everyone was supporting him (Massa).
“But I really feel over the years I’ve seen a lot of growth in my support here in Brazil, and of course it helps I’m not going up against a Brazilian in the championship. I genuinely feel I will have great support this weekend.”
Few images from yesterday. Bring on Qualifying today! #BrazilianGP #Brazil #F1 #Interlagos #TeamLH -Steve Etherington pic.twitter.com/AYwYbiqw0I
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) November 8, 2014
However, Hamilton was forced to play second best in yesterday’s practice as Rosberg was quickest on both the medium-compound tyre in FP1 and soft rubber in FP2.
A five-race winning streak has propelled Hamilton into a 24-point lead with two races remaining, yet Rosberg proved he is not going to be a pushover.
For once, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen – rather than team-mate Fernando Alonso as has often been the case – emerging the best of the rest, with the Finn just over half a second adrift.
Alonso’s session came to a premature end when his car burst into flames after he had pulled off the circuit, initially with smoke billowing from the rear.
Force India’s Sergio Perez failed to turn a wheel in anger. In giving way to Daniel Juncadella in FP1, the Spaniard crashed the car to such an extent that repairs were impossible in order to allow Perez to get out on track in FP2.
