Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas were the only two drivers to not wear Ayrton Senna t-shirts during the latter’s tribute in Imola ahead of the weekend. For spectators, it was baffling to see Verstappen and Bottas ‘not honor’ the late great Brazilian. But as it turns out, there was not much they could have done.
Sebastian Vettel organized this tribute ahead of the 2024 Emilia-Romagna GP, to pay homage to Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, both of whom lost their lives in Imola 30 years ago. He set things up for a run-up to the Tamburello chicane, which is where Senna fatally crashed. Thereafter, they walked to turn 6, where Ratzenberger met his tragic end.
For this event, Vettel made special t-shirts that everyone had to wear. The color was inspired by Senna’s helmet – yellow and green – and the t-shirt had his surname written on the front and the back. Verstappen, however, couldn’t wear this special outfit because his T-shirt got stolen.
according to the brazilian broadcaster, max didnt wear the t-shirt for Senna because his was stolen pic.twitter.com/BtGmNGoGfF
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) May 18, 2024
F1 reporter Marina Becker revealed this truth, earning the Dutchman some respite. He was on the receiving end of some scathing remarks online, with some even bringing up Kelly Piquet’s father Nelson’s ill-relationship with Senna.
waiting for apologies from people being nasty to max and involving his upbringing
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) May 18, 2024
Verstappen couldn’t pay a tribute to Senna by wearing this t-shirt. But the 26-year-old did so in another way. He equaled a unique record held by the Sao Paolo-born driver as he secured his eighth consecutive pole position in Imola.
Max Verstappen equals special Ayrton Senna record
Between the 1988 and 1989 seasons, Senna secured a record eight pole positions in a row. Since then, no driver had been able to match this feat, until Max Verstappen in Imola on Saturday. His streak started at the season finale in Abu Dhabi last year, at a time when he had already become a three-time World Champion.
A special tribute to Ayrton Senna on a special qualifying day ❤️
And another lovely race day tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/fZHNnSB0h2
— Max Verstappen (@VerstappenCOM) May 18, 2024
Achieving this feat, Verstappen feels that it was a nice way of paying homage to the former McLaren driver. “He was an incredible Formula 1 driver, especially in qualifying laps as well,” said the 26-year-old (as quoted by BBC).
Verstappen will be especially happy with his pole ahead of Sunday’s race because, he wasn’t particularly confident heading into qualifying, owing to the RB20’s issues.
