SAO PAULO (AP) — British driver Lewis Hamilton has won seven Formula One titles, holds multiple records and has clocked some of the fastest laps in history. But the greatest honor of his career, according to the 39-year-old, came on Sunday as he drove the late Ayrton Senna’s title-winning car around Interlagos ahead of this afternoon’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
Some fans in the stands had tears in their eyes as Hamilton knelt in front of the car in reverence.
Wearing an all white racing suit, Hamilton took some laps under falling rain in the historic McLaren MP4/5B that Senna drove during his 1990 title campaign, in which he beat Ferrari's Alain Prost. The Mercedes driver was shown the checkered flag by Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Rebeca Andrade as he carried a Brazilian flag with his right hand, mimicking what the legendary three-time champion did after many of his victories.
Senna died after the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994. His legacy is ever present at Interlagos, where he won in 1991 and 1993.
“It is very emotional, naturally,” said Hamilton as he held the Brazilian flag on his back. “I was revisiting my childhood as I watched Ayrton racing here. I can't believe I am having this opportunity.
“It is the greatest honor of my career to do it in front of this amazing crowd in Brazil,” said Hamilton, who in 2022 became an honorary Brazilian citizen by a motion of the country's congress.
During his time at McLaren, Hamilton drove Senna’s MP4/4 car around Silverstone in 2009 for a British TV program.
On his social media channels, the British driver added that the weekend is not going his way so far, but he could still enjoy the moment with Senna's car.
“I won my first championship here, had my best ever drive here, and now to be in this country as an honorary citizen driving my hero’s car is almost too much to comprehend. It doesn’t feel real,” he said. “It’s a massive honour and one that I’ll look back on as one of the highlights of my life.”
Struggling with Mercedes this season, the British driver jokingly said he had “the best drive in the whole weekend.” He will start Sunday's race 14th. Heavy rain in Sao Paulo delayed much of Saturday's action to Sunday morning, including the tribute to Senna.
“I would race with that car today if I could,” Hamilton said. The British driver, who will move to Ferrari next season, is sixth in the drivers' championship.
Luciane D'Angelo, 45, was one of the tearful fans watching Hamilton drive at Interlagos. As a child, she used to watch F1 races with her father, who currently suffers from a serious disease she did not disclose.
“I cry because Ayrton's tragic death still leaves us with this massive void. He made children of that time enjoy their Sundays with their families even more. He wasn't only one of the greatest F1 drivers in history, but also a person that every Brazilian learned to admire,” she said.
Earlier this year, four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel drove Senna's 1993 McLaren at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix as part of tributes to the Brazilian driver on the 30th anniversary of his death.
Former Brazilian drivers were split about handing the tribute to Senna to his hardcore fan Hamilton. Rubens Barrichello said a Brazilian driver who shared some time in F1 with the three-time champion would have been a better choice.
Two-time champion Emerson Fittipaldi said in an interview that it was “unethical” for organizers to pick the British driver. But Felipe Massa, who lost the 2008 title to Hamilton near the end of that year's race at Interlagos, agreed with the move.
“Of course I wanted to drive it myself. But I respect the decision of the Senna family, fans will love to watch a big fan of Ayrton's like Hamilton driving his car here,” Massa said on Saturday. “At the end, every driver would love to have that honor.”
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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, waves to fans after driving the car of legendary driver Ayrton Senna prior the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, center, waves to fans after driving the car of legendary driver Ayrton Senna prior the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, drives the car of legendary driver Ayrton Senna prior the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The top United Nations court took up the largest case in its history on Monday, hearing the plight of several small island nations helpless in combating the devastating impact of climate change that they feel endangers their very survival. They demand that major polluting nations be held to account.
After years of lobbying by island nations who fear they could simply disappear under rising sea waters, the U.N. General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice last year for an opinion on “the obligations of States in respect of climate change.”
“The stakes could not be higher. The survival of my people and so many others is on the line,” said Arnold Kiel Loughman, attorney-general of the Vanuatu archipelago nation.
“As the principal legal officer of my country, I have come before this court because domestic legal remedies are unable to address a crisis of the scope and magnitude," he said during the opening session of two weeks of hearings.
"States have obligations ... to act with due diligence, to prevent significant harm to the environment, to prevent, to reduce the emissions and provide support to countries like mine to protect the human rights of present and future generations,” he said.
Any decision by the court would be non-binding advice and couldn't directly force wealthy nations into action to help struggling countries. Yet it would be more than just a powerful symbol since it could be the basis for other legal actions, including domestic lawsuits.
In the decade up to 2023, sea levels have risen by a global average of around 4.3 centimeters (1.7 inches), with parts of the Pacific rising higher still. The world has also warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 Fahrenheit) since preindustrial times because of the burning of fossil fuels.
Vanuatu is one of a group of small states pushing for international legal intervention in the climate crisis but it affects many more island nations in the South Pacific.
Cynthia Houniuhi, the head of the Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change that initiated the case, said climate change was undermining “the sacred contract” between generations.
“Without our land, our bodies and memories are severed from the fundamental relationship that define who we are. Those who stand to lose are the future generations. Their future is uncertain, reliant upon the decision making of a handful of large emitting states., she told the court, referring to China, India and the United States.
Joie Chowdhury, senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, said that the conduct of major polluters responsible for the climate crisis and its catastrophic consequences is unlawful under multiple sources of international law.
Vanuatu’s climate change envoy Ralph Regenvanu told the court that since 1990, emissions have increased by over 50%, reaching an all time high in 2023. He added that “a handful of readily identifiable states have produced the vast majority of historic and current greenhouse gas emissions. Yet other countries, including my own, are suffering the brunt of the consequences.”
The Hague-based court will hear from 99 countries and more than a dozen intergovernmental organizations over two weeks. It’s the largest lineup in the institution’s nearly 80-year history.
Last month at the United Nations’ annual climate meeting, countries cobbled together an agreement on how rich countries can support poor countries in the face of climate disasters. Wealthy countries have agreed to pool together at least $300 billion a year by 2035 but the total is short of the $1.3 trillion that experts, and threatened nations, said is needed.
“For our generation and for the Pacific Islands, the climate crisis is an existential threat. It is a matter of survival, and the world’s biggest economies are not taking this crisis seriously. We need the ICJ to protect the rights of people at the front lines,” said Vishal Prasad, of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change.
Fifteen judges from around the world will seek to answer two questions: What are countries obliged to do under international law to protect the climate and environment from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions? And what are the legal consequences for governments where their acts, or lack of action, have significantly harmed the climate and environment?
The second question makes particular reference to “small island developing States” likely to be hardest hit by climate change and to “members of “the present and future generations affected by the adverse effects of climate change.”
The judges were even briefed on the science behind rising global temperatures by the U.N.’s climate change body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, ahead of the hearings.
Associated Press writer Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report.
Judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, prepare to open hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Presiding Judge Nawaf Salam, gestures as the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, opens hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Vanuatu's special climate envoy Ralph Regenvanu prepares to speak as the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, opens hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Judges are seated as the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, opens hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Activists put up a billboard outside the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, Netherlands, as it opens hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Activists protest outside the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, Netherlands, as it opens hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Activists protest outside the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, Netherlands, as it opens hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Activists protest outside the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, Netherlands, as it opens hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Activists put up a billboard outside the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, Netherlands, as it opens hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
FILE - The Peace Palace housing the World Court, or International Court of Justice, is reflected in a monument in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
