Beyond their incredibly cool day jobs (minus the chore of all the brand and partnership faff that comes with it), race car drivers are afforded some unique opportunities to pilot old machines that many of us can only dream of sitting in. Great racers are great racers, full stop, so it’s no surprise when they’re entrusted to drive such rare vintage race cars, either for exhibition or in anger.
Ahead of last week’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton was invited to lap the Interlagos circuit in the same McLaren MP4/5B that the late Ayrton Senna drove to capture the championship in 1990. The rain, coupled with the car’s importance, meant that he drove those laps at about four-tenths, but it was clear just how much the experience meant to Hamilton – and to the thousands of fans on hand to see it.
Over the summer, meanwhile, his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, was invited to step back in time to drive a 100-year-old race car built by Mercedes for the 1924 Targa Florio. He piloted it around Italian country roads and then, with some spice, at Imola – complete with period-looking goggles and leather “helmet.” The hardest part for the paddle-flipping Russell (who, to be fair, has plenty of experience with manual shifting) was getting used to the Merc’s pedal placement: throttle in the middle, clutch on the left, and brake on the right.
Opportunities like this aren’t exclusive to the Mercedes duo, of course. In 2019, current F1 champ Max Verstappen was offered a ride in a 1965 Honda RA272, the firm’s very first Grand Prix winner. He looks like he’s sitting on top of it as the 1.5-litre V12 screams around Honda’s Tochigi Proving Ground. Heel-and-toeing proved a challenge for the Dutchman in his size 41 shoes, which maybe helps explain why tiny Richie Ginther was able to achieve victory all those years ago. At 5 feet 6 inches and just 130 pounds, he actually fit in the thing . . .
These are just a few of the many examples of F1 pilots hopping into old cars to strut their stuff. So, would you rather be Lewis in Ayrton’s McLaren, George in an ancient Merc, or Max in Honda’s lithe debutante? Or is there another combo you’d suggest? Let us know in the comments.
