Lewis Hamilton is well and truly an Honorary Brazilian”: Fans react to the F1 champion mentioning Rebecca Andrade in his Instagram story
F1 fans were left emotional when Lewis Hamilton congratulated Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade after she won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on August 6. The seven-time world champion was present in the French capital to support his best friend, fencer Miles Chamley Watson in his bid to get an Olympic medal over the weekend.
The British-American athlete representing the USA failed to win a medal at the Paris Olympics on August 4th after losing to France in the bronze medal match.
He received consolation from the Mercedes driver, together with American rapper Snoop Dogg and snowboarding legend Shaun White. Following this, Hamilton showed his support for Brazil during the Women’s Floor event in gymnastics, where Andrade clinched the gold medal by defeating the reigning Olympic champion, Simone Biles from the USA.
Andrade scored 14.166 points, surpassing Biles’s 14.133 points.
“F1 enthusiasts expressed their thoughts on social media after Hamilton shared Andrade’s Instagram post on his story and sent his well wishes.
One user on X even stated that the 39-year-old is considered a true ‘Honorary Citizen’ of Brazil.”
“Lewis Hamilton is well and truly an Honorary Brazilian.”
“Our man doing his part as a proud Brazilian,” another said.
“It gets better when you remember Lewis took the flag (don’t know if it’s the right expression) from Rebeca in Intergalos 2021,” yet another said.
“Does he already know what language they speak?” a fan said.
The Mercedes driver was felicitated with honorary Brazilian citizenship in 2022.
Lewis Hamilton had shared his gratitude after he was felicitated with honorary Brazilian citizenship in 2022 by the lower house of the Brazilian Parliament.As per F1.com, the 39-year-old said:
“I’d like to say a big, big thank you to everyone here at the house, for all those who’ve moved mountains to make this day possible. It is honestly the greatest honor for me to be here receiving and accepting this citizenship. I really do feel like now I’m one of you, finally.”
I really want to dedicate today, this honor, to Ayrton Senna – to Ayrton’s family, to his friends, and to his fans. For me, when I was five years old, I saw Ayrton race for the first time, and that was the moment I knew that I wanted to be a world champion, just like him,” he added
Hamilton stated that he learned more about the South American country through Senna and was able to witness the deep passion Brazilians have for their country, appreciating its beauty.
The British driver has had some of his most memorable F1 moments in Brazil, including his first Championship win in 2008 and his comeback victory at the 2021 race, adding to his previous wins at the Brazilian GP in 2016 and 2018.
