It has been two years since Lewis Hamilton became an honorary Brazilian citizen—a recognition that stemmed from his deep affection for the country and a strong connection with its people. This bond was largely inspired by his admiration for one of F1’s greatest drivers, the Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna.
Besides Hamilton, only one other person in recent times has received honorary citizenship in Brazil— Erika Robb Larkins, an anthropology professor recognized for her contributions to research on Brazilian society. Hamilton, as a result, knew such an honor was rare, even for someone as globally famous as himself.
Brazil is known for having a strict citizenship policy, often referred to as the naturalization law. Under this law, individuals seeking permanent citizenship must reside in the country for at least four years, demonstrate a working knowledge of Portuguese, and maintain a record of good character.
There is some leniency with native Portuguese speakers from other countries often getting exemptions. But when it came to Hamilton, the Brazilian government completely bent its rules. Still, the Ferrari driver recently joked that Brazil had adopted him for the lack of F1 drivers from their country in recent times.
“Brazil gave me a citizenship. I’ve never even heard that happen before but basically they called me and said ‘we wanna give you a citizenship!’ I guess ’cause they don’t have any Brazilian drivers, they just adopted me!”, Hamilton said in a media interaction at the Miami GP.
The government was quite proud to bestow this honor upon Hamilton. They announced it in late 2021, which was also when Hamilton was set to receive his knighthood in the UK. A year later, when the Briton visited Brazil for the Sao Paulo GP, he also went to the country’s capital, Brasilia, to officially receive his honorary citizenship.
#MiamiGP | Lewis Hamilton talking about Brazil:
“You know, I’m like Brazilian now, right? I got a citizenship! Brazil gave me a citizenship. I’ve never even heard that happen before but basically they called me and said ‘we wanna give you a citizenship!’ I guess ’cause they… pic.twitter.com/QTckBlxeJe
— deni (@fiagirly) May 1, 2025
However, Hamilton’s theory about Brazil adopting him as one of their own due to the absence of a local driver has since become obsolete.
While the Brazilian masses still shower Hamilton with support every year at Interlagos, they now have a home hero in Gabriel Bortoleto.
Having joined F1 as a Sauber driver in 2025, Bortoleto is the official Brazilian representative on the current grid, while Hamilton continues to race under the United Kingdom flag. Bortoleto has received widespread praise in the F1 community for winning consecutive F3 and F2 titles over the past two years.
Many consider the 20-year-old a highly talented driver who could go a long way at the pinnacle of motorsport. While it’s been a tough start for him so far, the São Paulo-born driver is determined to succeed with the Swiss outfit, which will transition into Audi in 2026.
And Audi would hit the jackpot if Bortoleto starts delivering on his potential. After all, they secured his services late last year by poaching him from McLaren’s driver academy. While he doesn’t have the car right now and is still settling into the sport, Bortoleto could soon make headlines and become the darling of Brazilian fans—alongside Hamilton.
