Lewis Hamilton Explains How His Admiration for Brazil Eventually Turned into a Feeling of “Home”

Lewis Hamilton’s love for Brazil is no secret due to him idolizing Ayrton Senna. However, apart from Senna, multiple factors attracted the Briton towards the Brazilian nation — particularly its passionate culture for sports like soccer and racing. This passion resonated with Hamilton’s personality and today he calls Brazil his second “home”.

In an exclusive with the ELLE magazine, the seven-time champion elaborated on the same. He said, “The thing I love most about Brazil is the people, the energy. When I was younger, growing up in England, it was the colors, the green and yellow of the football [soccer] shirts that attracted me. I watched a lot of Brazilian national team games.”

Hamilton also stated that the Brazilian drums and music further added to his admiration for the country. On top of that, seeing the Carnival only increased his liking for the passionate persona of the Brazilian population. He stated that he has not seen people from any other country be as passionate.

“So when I finally went to Brazil, I felt the energy. It’s a very diverse country, which I love. It feels like home.”, the 39-year-old added.

Sir Lewis Hamilton officially becomes an honorary citizen of Brazil pic.twitter.com/Xkf7tSLGRI

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) November 7, 2022

Cut to his early days in F1, Hamilton became quite a popular driver whenever he came to Brazil. His maiden championship win at Interlagos was the stimulus to Brazilian F1 fans starting to shower praise and love for the British driver.

After so many years of getting so much admiration from the Brazilian nation, Hamilton also got the honorary citizenship of the country in 2022. As a result, the Brazilian GP in Sao Paulo has become his second home Grand Prix on the F1 calendar. Moreover, Hamilton often visits Brazil during his free time apart from the race weekends as well.