Sebastian Vettel will perform a demonstration run in a car previously raced by Ayrton Senna at Imola to mark the 30th anniversary of his death.
The four-times world champion owns a McLaren-Ford MP4/8 of the type Senna raced in the 1993 season. He will drive it during the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix weekend at Imola in two weeks’ time.
Vettel announced his plans in a social media post. “Ayrton Senna was not only a driver who I valued highly for being one of the best racing has ever seen, but also a man of great compassion,” he said.
“It’s been 30 years since his accident and I would like to pay tribute to Ayrton. I will be in Imola for the grand prix to drive his car, the McLaren MP4/8. I hope to see you on Sunday on the 19th of May.”
Senna scored his final grand prix victory in an MP4/8 in the season finale at Adelaide that year. It marked the end of his six-year spell at McLaren before he joined Williams the following season.
However Senna was killed in a crash during the third race of the 1994 championship at Imola, 30 years ago today.
He was one of two drivers who died during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix weekend. The Imola race promoters have previously announced they will pay tribute to him and Roland Ratzenberger, who was killed when he crashed during qualifying on the day before the race.
Vettel drove his McLaren at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year as part of his ‘Race Without Trace’ initiative to demonstrate old F1 cars running on synthetic fuels which have the potential to reduce carbon emissions. He previously demonstrated a Williams-Renault FW14B of the type Nigel Mansell used to win the world championship, during the British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone.
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