Lewis Hamilton was a nine-year-old kart racer when he learned that his idol Ayrton Senna had died after crashing into a concrete wall during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix More a quarter of a century later, Hamilton still has vivid memories of when his father broke the news as the pair repaired their kart
« I remember I had to get away from my dad, because my dad never let me cry in front of him, » Hamilton said on Friday as he prepared for his first Formula 1 race on the track. ‘Imola where Senna lost his life
« I had to go to a different place and it wasn’t that easy, » Hamilton added, his voice shaking with emotion
« But I remember trying to turn that sadness into adrenaline and I think I won this weekend But the following weeks were tough »
This weekend’s Emilia-Romagna GP marks F1’s first race at Imola since 2006, when Hamilton raced in GP2 on the circuit He returns as the new holder of most Grand Prix wins in F1, after eclipsing Michael Schumacher last weekend by winning a record 92nd race in Portugal
Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger was also killed during the 1994 race weekend in a high-speed crash, but Senna was a three-time F1 champion and considered one of the greatest drivers in the series
« It’s just something we will always remember, » said Hamilton, to whom Senna’s family donated one of Senna’s racing helmets at a Brazilian GP
« I took the tour today and it was a really special tour to see this historic track, passing the difficult recall of where Ayrton crashed
« It’s still very surreal to me when I go to places, where you go through the Monaco tunnel or you drive to the British GP where you know the greats of the past have raced in those places », the Mercedes driver added
« It’s heartwarming to know that I was able to be here and do what he was doing 26 years ago »
Mercedes can clinch a seventh consecutive constructors title on Sunday unless Red Bull wins by 34 points – something Red Bull hasn’t done for over four years
« I remember when we debated internally in 2014 what we could define as a target, » said Mercedes team manager Toto Wolff.
« And we said, ‘Winning a championship would be fantastic’And (Engineering Director) Aldo Costa said:’ We’re not ambitious enough We should write that our goal is to win multiple championships »
« If anyone had told us at the time that it would be seven years, I clearly would have thought they would need support And here we are, we have achieved it »
Inserted in the revised schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic, this race will take place in an abbreviated format
No training took place on Friday, leaving only one practice session on Saturday before qualifying No fans will be allowed in due to the increase in virus cases in Italy
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Ayrton Senna, Formula 1, Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
News from the world – United States – Back to Imola, Lewis Hamilton still has vivid memories of Ayrton Senna
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
