Hamilton destined to emulate his hero Senna in Singapore

In the Formula 1 modern Era, only Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso have won (all twice or more) at the Singapore Grand Prix, but it is all about the former for this current race.

The Englishman, who is 53 points ahead of his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in the Drivers’ Championship standings, has the chance to emulate his hero and one of the sport’s finest, Ayrton Senna.

Brazilian Senna never got to race at Singapore, as it was not held during his era, but he managed to win 41 times in 161 F1 starts before tragically losing his life at the San Marino GP in 1994.

Remarkably, Hamilton has triumphed 40 times in 160 starts, and is the odds-on favourite with Coral at 4/7 to match Senna’s record to win his third at this track.

On top of that, defending champion Hamilton is also only one behind the Brazilian’s records of eight consecutive poles and three Championships. He is also odds-on at 4/9 to be the fastest qualifier and 1/14 to defend his title.

“Since I was a boy I have always wanted to emulate Ayrton and be as similar to him as l could – whilst still being myself,” Hamilton, who is 9/4 to be King of the Road, said ahead of the race. “I’ve always wanted to drive a car like he could or handle a car like he could.

“It’s quite surreal to think that 20 years later l am fighting for a similar number of podiums or Championships, but we have to remember that if he continued he would have won many more. But l feel proud to be in terms of results to be similar to such a great.”