Lewis Hamilton was a nine-year-old karting driver when he discovered his idol Ayrton Senna died after crashing right into a concrete wall in the course of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Greater than 1 / 4 of a century later, Hamilton nonetheless has vivid recollections of when his father broke the information because the pair repaired his kart.
“I keep in mind I needed to stroll away from my dad, as a result of my dad would by no means let me cry in entrance of him,” Hamilton mentioned on Friday whereas getting ready for his first System One race on the Imola monitor the place Senna misplaced his life.
“I needed to go to a distinct place and it was not really easy,” Hamilton added, his voice quavering with emotion.
“However I keep in mind attempting to problem that disappointment into adrenaline and I feel I gained that weekend. However the next weeks had been robust.”
This weekend’s Emilia Romagna GP marks the primary F1 race at Imola since 2006, when Hamilton raced in GP2 on the circuit. He returns as F1’s new holder of most grand prix wins, after eclipsing Michael Schumacher final weekend by profitable a document 92nd race in Portugal.
Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger was additionally killed in the course of the 1994 race weekend in a high-speed crash however Senna was a three-time F1 champion and thought of among the many sequence’ best drivers.
“It’s simply one thing we’ll at all times keep in mind,” mentioned Hamilton, who was given certainly one of Senna’s race helmets by Senna’s household at a Brazilian GP.
“I went round at the moment and it was a very particular lap simply going round seeing this historic monitor, passing the laborious reminder of the place Ayrton crashed.
“It is rather surreal nonetheless for me after I go to locations, the place you drive by way of the tunnel in Monaco otherwise you drive on the British GP the place that the greats up to now have raced at these locations,” the Mercedes driver added.
“That’s heartwarming to know that I used to be in a position to be right here and do what he was doing 26 years in the past.”
CONSTRUCTORS TITLE
Mercedes can clinch a document seventh consecutive constructors’ title on Sunday except Pink Bull outscores it by 34 factors — one thing Pink Bull hasn’t executed in additional than 4 years.
“I keep in mind once we debated in 2014 internally what we may set as a goal,” Mercedes crew principal Toto Wolff mentioned.
“And we mentioned, ‘Successful a championship could be implausible.’ And (engineering director) Aldo Costa mentioned, ‘We’re not bold sufficient. We should always write down that our goal is to win a number of championships.’
“If somebody would have instructed us again then that it might be seven I’d have clearly thought he would wish some help. And right here we go, now we have achieved it.”
SHORTENED WEEKEND
Inserted into the revised calendar because of the coronavirus pandemic, this race shall be held with an abbreviated format.
No apply was held on Friday, leaving just one apply session on Saturday earlier than qualifying. No followers shall be allowed in on account of rising virus instances in Italy.
