Senna to be honoured in Sao Paulo Fan Festival
Ayrton Senna is to be honoured by an official Formula 1 Fan Festival to be held in his home town of Sao Paulo on Saturday November 9th, a week before the Brazilian GP.
Senna's countrymen Emerson Fittipaldi and Felipe Massa will both drive examples of his old F1 cars on the streets of the city.
Although details of who handles what have yet to be confirmed, Senna's 1984 Toleman TG184 and 1985 Lotus 97T will be among the cars present. Motorsport.com understands that Pietro Fittipaldi has been invited to drive the latter.
In addition, modern F1 will be represented by Esteban Gutierrez in a Mercedes, and 17-year-old Sao Paulo native Caio Collet in a Lotus-Renault.
The free event, which is backed by official F1 sponsor Heineken, will take place at Sao Paulo's Ibirapuera Park, from noon to 6pm. Other activities include a concert.
The event is intended "to pay tribute to the incredible legacy he has left on Formula 1 and the people of Brazil," 25 years after he lost his life at the 1994 San Marino GP, and it has the full support of his family.
"I'm sure it will be an unforgettable day to Ayrton's fans," said Bianca Senna, director of the Ayrton Senna Institute. "The opportunity of seeing, so close, historical cars, that were part of some of his best moments in F1, will be incredible.
"Having the chance to see an event with so many attractions, happening in Ibirapuera, the heart of Sao Paulo, will be even more remarkable, crowning 2019, a year full of beautiful tributes to celebrate 25 years of legacy."
F1 commercial boss Sean Bratches said: "Ayrton Senna is a true legend of our sport and his legacy is both immense and inspiring. It is our honour to bring Formula 1 to the streets of Sao Paulo with our partners Heineken to celebrate his life and his importance to the people of Brazil.
"We will be celebrating his life by giving fans the chance to get up close and personal with modern and historic F1 cars that will give them a once in a lifetime experience of the speed, sound, and excitement that F1 has to offer."
The day will also be a useful opportunity for Formula Renault Eurocup frontrunner Collet to appear in front of a Brazilian crowd with the 2012 Lotus E20. He has already sampled the car at Paul Ricard.
"It's going to be one of the best things I've done in my life so far, driving an F1 car on the streets of my hometown," he said.
"I'm very grateful for this opportunity from Renault. It's going to be very special with my family and friends there to watch too. I'm very proud to represent Renault for this unique experience as well as paying tribute to Ayrton Senna."
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