Inside Kimi Antonelli’s quiet tribute to Ayrton Senna ahead of F1 Brazil GP: "My racing hero"

Mercedes Formula 1 rookie driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli paid his respects to his "racing hero" Ayrton Senna ahead of the Brazil Grand Prix.

The Italian driver was spotted sitting by the three-time champion's grave in the Morumbi Cemetery ahead of the race weekend at Interlagos.

"It was a really cool experience," Antonelli explained to the media. "Ayrton is my racing hero. And yesterday I had a lot of time on hand, so I said, you know, why not? It was very close to my hotel.

"So I decided to go once. I decided to go in the morning, but then I also went in the afternoon because I found it a really quiet place, very peaceful. So in the afternoon, I decided to go there this time with my coach, and we read a book. We were reading a book and just spent some time in peace in a quiet place and it was really nice. But yeah, I really wanted to go and say hi to him."

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He added: "I was reading a book about Ayrton. It's called, obviously it's in Italian, the translation is Driven to Perfection. And it's really cool to have quiet moments, because obviously as a driver you spend most of your time under the spotlight.

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"So, it's nice to have some time for yourself in a quiet place, with no one around. And I think it's also important to be able to have these kind of moments, in order to get some time for yourself and also to get ready ahead of the race weekend."

When questioned about his racing idol being someone he hasn't seen race, the 19-year-old recounted watching the Brazilian driver's races on DVD with his father.

"Well, because with my dad, when I was little, we used to go through lots of DVDs about old F1 races from the '90s. All the way to the 2000s. And definitely Ayrton was the driver who stood out among them all. Not only because of the driver he was, but also for the personality that he had on and off track. So definitely he became my inspiration.

"I would have loved to see him racing in real life, but despite watching him only from DVDs and videos, I still got very passionate about him."

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