Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton named honorary citizen of Brazil


Europe 1 with AFP

British driver Lewis Hamilton, seven-time Formula 1 world champion, was honored Monday in Brasilia with the title of honorary citizen of Brazil, country of his idol Ayrton Senna. He received a medal in the colors of the country in front of a horde of parliamentarians.

Lewis Hamilton now has his heart in Brazil. Dressed in a blue suit, he received a medal in the yellow and green colors of Brazil from the hands of the president of the lower house Artur Lira, who called him “Brazilian at heart”. He is now an “honorary citizen of Brazil”.

“All my life, Brazil has taken an important place in my heart, it’s my second home,” said the 37-year-old pilot, visibly moved, during the ceremony at the Chamber of Deputies.

The first honorary citizen

Acclaimed by parliamentarians, the driver of the Mercedes team, who will compete in the Interlagos Grand Prix on Sunday, said he was “honored” by this title, the first of its kind granted to a foreign personality by the Brazilian Parliament.

Hamilton made an impression after his victory at the 2021 Brazilian GP, ​​when he paid a vibrant tribute to Ayrton Senna, three-time world champion who tragically died in the middle of a race at the Imola circuit in 1994.

“When I think of the streets of Salvador or the precious Amazon rainforest, it makes me want to spend even more time here getting to know the amazing people and places of this beautiful country better,” the Briton said at the ceremony.



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