Lewis Hamilton's Senna connection
Extraordinary tales from the Motor Sport digital archive
We’ve now entered the teens in years since Lewis Hamilton took the first of his six British GP victories – 13 years ago this July.
Hamilton’s maiden Silverstone win was a wet-weather masterclass beyond his years as he trounced the field to finish over a minute ahead of runner-up Nick Heidfeld.
This F1 Retro shines a light on a classic Nigel Roebuck interview with Hamilton, conducted at Spa that very same season.
The article has Hamilton comparing and contrasting himself with his hero Ayrton Senna, saying he’d always felt “a connection” to the Brazilian racing hero.
“As a kid, I was drawn to Senna because, for one thing, his driving style seemed to be different from anyone else’s,” Hamilton says. “Compared with all the others, he appeared never to be afraid – he seemed to me to have that little bit of an edge.”
Sound familiar? Thirteen seasons later, Hamilton is still showing the same guile, gumption and relentless determination in his battle with Max Verstappen.
At Baku, were it not for one overexuberant hand movement, we would likely have seen Hamilton do what he so often does – find a way to win, even against the odds.
Read more in the Motor Sport Archive