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Lewis Hamilton admitted a surprise and sad memory on Friday after arriving at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The surprise came, he said, when he learned of Formula One’s proposals for the salary cap for drivers to begin in 2023.
Sadness, he said, struck him as he remembered the death of his childhood racing hero Ayrton Senna when he passed the commemorative statue on the corner of Tamburello, where the Brazilian died in 1994.
Five days after his 92nd record victory at last Sunday’s Portuguese Grand Prix, the six-time champion returned to work and was faced with a barrage of questions about the past, present and future.
He said talking about a salary cap was unexpected, but that it had nothing to do with any delay in his negotiations for a new contract with Mercedes. The talks are officially on hold until the drivers ‘and constructors’ championships are resolved.
“From the drivers’ point of view, it is a surprise,” said Hamilton, when asked about the outcome of the F1 Commission meeting last Monday in which all ten teams supported the idea.
“We had heard of the idea a while ago, but it is the first time we hear it again this week. I think it is important that the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers Association) work closely with F1 and participate in the discussions. “.
This weekend’s race will be Hamilton’s first as an F1 driver at Imola, which, he said, evoked emotions as he surveyed the track.
“Obviously, the 1994 story is something we always remember,” he said. “I turned around today and it was a really special lap, just turning around and looking at this historic track, passing the harsh reminder of where Ayrton crashed …
“It’s still very surreal for me, when I go to places where you know the greats of the past have run like the Monaco tunnel or Silverstone …
“Before, I was in an area where many years ago, 26 years ago, Ayrton was here doing what he loved, like me.
“So in a way it’s comforting to know that I was able to be here and do what he was doing 26 years ago, but otherwise it’s just another career.”
Hamilton said he vividly remembered May 1, 1994, the day of Senna’s death.
When he was a boy of nine years old, he remembers helping his father Anthony repair his kart at a British youth race.
“I don’t know how he found out, but someone told him that Ayrton had died,” he said.
“And I remember I had to get away from my dad because he never let me cry in front of him, so I had to go to a different place. It wasn’t easy.
“I remember trying to channel that sadness into my driving and I think I won that weekend, but the following weeks were very difficult.”
This weekend, Hamilton and his teammate Valtteri Bottas aim to close Mercedes’ record for the seventh consecutive constructors’ championship on their way to their own seventh drivers’ title.
str / pb
