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Lewis Hamilton’s Instagram went into overdrive ahead of the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix when he posted a video of him playing a retro racing video game, and Hamilton revealed in Montreal he felt the need to get an ’80s console itch scratch.
Over 1.1 million Instagram users liked the video of Hamilton’s duel Ayrton Senna’s Super Monaco GP II on a Sega Genesis console he bought when he arrived in Montreal, and Hamilton posted on Instagram: “I loved this game as a kid and I still do. Holds anyway! Of course I got super competitive with myself. My personal best is currently 49 seconds but I’m pretty sure I can beat that. That was only after a few tries. I’ll let you all know when I’ve made it.”
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And in Friday morning’s press conference, Hamilton revealed why he had been lured into making his impulse buy in Montreal.
“I just felt like playing old games!” said Hamilton. “I just recently bought an old Nintendo 64 – actually no, I didn’t buy it, I found it in my warehouse and then I went and got it Gold eye. When I landed, I went to fetch Mario Kart but they didn’t have a Nintendo 64, so I bought… a Sega Genesis. And then they had the Senna game there, so I was like, oh, that’s perfect. So I’ve spent the last few nights driving the Senna game. But I’m not that fast.”
When asked cheekily by Max Verstappen, who was sitting next to him in the press conference, whether he had problems with porpoises during the game, Hamilton laughed: “No, not a porpoise!”
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Meanwhile, looking ahead to this weekend’s action, Hamilton revealed what it meant for him to return to a race in Montreal for the first time since 2019 – Hamilton had clinched his first win and pole here in 2007 while continuing to race six poles and seven wins here in total.
“It’s very special to come back to Montreal,” Hamilton said. “It’s great to see the people and the city, great to see the energy throughout the city as you walk through it. I remember my first time here and my first Grand Prix win here, my first pole in 2007, so it’s always special when I come back here. My father called me and we reminisce about such things. So it’s great to be back. I can’t wait to drive this track because the track is fantastic. I just hope our car gets better this weekend.”