Lewis Hamilton has been left 'speechless' after becoming an honorary Brazilian citizen., continuing a long-time love affair with the country.
The 37-year-old has enjoyed a glittering career in F1 and some of his finest moments have taken place in the South American country. He has also long cited legendary Brazilian racer Ayrton Senna - a three-time F1 champion - as his idol and hero.
The Mercedes driver has also won the Brazilian GP three times and the people have taken Hamilton to their hearts, especially after his heroics last year, taking the chequered flag when starting from tenth. After receiving the honour, the motorsport legend took to Instagram to thank the Brazilians for the kind gesture. He posted the photos of him draped in the Brazilian flag after his magnificent comeback win in Sao Paulo last year.
“Speechless. Today I was granted honorary citizenship to one of my favourite places in the world,” Hamilton penned. “I don’t really have the words right now. Thank you Brasil, I love you, I can’t wait to see you again.” He also took the time to write his message in Portuguese, Brazil’s native language.
The country's love affair with Hamilton perhaps didn’t start on the front foot as he overtook Timo Glock on the last corner to pip Brazilian Felippe Massa to the world championship by a single point at the Interlagos circuit in 2008. Hamilton entered the bend sixth believing fate had cheated him once more, with title rival Massa having already taken the chequered flag in first place.
But the Briton flashed past Glock's flailing Toyota to claim the extra place he needed. "It was the toughest race of my life," said Hamilton, who claimed the first of his seven world titles at the age of just 23. "My heart was in my mouth and ready to explode. I don't know how I kept my cool. It's done. It's a dream."
Fast forward 13 years and Hamilton received one of the biggest ovations of his entire career when he kept his hopes of winning a record eighth title alive in 2021. He put in one of the great Formula One performances in Sao Paulo, as he made a quite remarkable recovery to secure victory.
Just 24 hours earlier Hamilton found himself at the back of the grid last heading into the sprint race, however an impressive showing there saw him gain 15 spots to finish fifth. This, alongside his grid penalty saw him start Sunday's race in 10th, but he went on to prove just why he is a seven-time world champion, as he flew past the rest of the field to secure one of his great victories.
By the end of just the second lap the seven-time world champion had already forced his way into a podium spot, as he made up seven places to move into third in just two laps. By lap 18 the seven-time world champion finally had his title rival Max Verstappen in his sights, as he breezed past Verstappen’s teammate Perez to ensure the pair at the top of the standings were the pair leading the race.
Hamilton finally slipped ahead of the Dutchman on lap 59 to the delight of the Brazilian crowd, before going on to take a remarkable victory. He would go on to win the next two races in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to set up an epic title showdown in Abu Dhabi, which hosted one of the most controversial endings to a race in history.
