When F1 drivers step back in time – modern stars in legendary machinery

There was a touch of nostalgia in the air on Sunday morning in Mexico City. Before race day unfolded, Yuki Tsunoda climbed into Honda’s RA272 – the car that delivered the company’s first Formula 1 victory at that very circuit back in 1965 – and let its V12 engine howl round the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

For all the ever-evolving technology and precision of modern F1, moments like these hit differently... especially for the drivers themselves. From Lewis Hamilton taking Ayrton Senna’s McLaren for a run in Sao Paulo to Mick Schumacher’s emotional outing in his father's Championship-winning car, these are the special moments when F1’s past comes roaring back to life.

Yuki Tsunoda x Honda RA272

Ahead of the action at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday, Yuki Tsunoda took to the track in Honda’s RA272 – the very car that delivered the then-constructors first F1 victory at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix. The occasion marked 60 years since Richie Ginther steered the white-and-red machine, complete with its distinctive Japanese flag on the nose, to a landmark win that announced Honda’s arrival in the sport.

In the six decades since that breakthrough triumph, Honda has returned to the championship in many forms, as both constructor and engine supplier, and collected multiple drivers’ and constructors’ crowns along the way. Having a Japanese driver and Honda representative like Tsunoda behind the wheel felt like the perfect way to honour that legacy. Afterwards, he summed it up simply on social media as “a very special and proud moment for me.”

Lewis Hamilton x McLaren MP4/5B

Few moments capture the magic of F1 history quite like Lewis Hamilton taking to a wet Interlagos circuit in Ayrton Senna’s 1990 McLaren MP4/5B. In a special demonstration during the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, Hamilton completed several laps in the Honda-powered machine – more than he’d been told to, by his own admission. Behind the wheel of his childhood hero’s car, at Senna’s home track, he said he found himself “revisiting his childhood” and simply couldn’t bring himself to climb out.

Calling it the “greatest honour of my career,” Hamilton made the moment even more poignant by unfurling a Brazilian flag and waving it from the cockpit, echoing the gesture Senna made after winning his first race at Interlagos back in 1991. It seemed like a fitting scene for a driver who has his own deep ties to the country – it was the place where he clinched his first World Championship title in 2008, and also where he was named an honorary citizen of Brazil in 2022. More than three decades on, both car and circuit still carry the same emotional pull for the seven-time World Champion.

Fernando Alonso x Renault R25

Some sounds never leave you – and the high pitch screech of the V10 is one of them. During the season finale in Abu Dhabi back in 2020, Fernando Alonso slipped behind the wheel of his championship-winning Renault R25 for a few laps after FP1, marking his reunion with the team ahead of their rebrand to Alpine the following year. The bold blue-and-yellow machine is the very car that carried him to his first World Championship in 2005 and, in doing so, he ended Michael Schumacher and Ferrari’s five-year stranglehold on the sport.

It might have been billed as a demonstration run to mark his anticipated return to the team, but this was Alonso, so he was never going to take it easy. He threw the R25 around Yas Marina as if he were in Qualifying, leaning on the tyres, chasing every apex masterfully, and no-doubt soaking up the noise of the glorious V10 engine.

Oliver Bearman x ERA R4A

There are plenty of ways to celebrate 75 years of F1, but few better than letting the new generation experience where it all began. Haas rookie Ollie Bearman joined former F1 driver and Le Mans victor Martin Brundle to sample a pair of 1950s machines that helped shape the sport’s earliest days, as part of a Sky Sports F1 feature. Among them were the ERA R4A, Bob Gerrard’s spare at the 1950 British Grand Prix, and an Alfa Romeo 158 similar to the one Giuseppe Farina drove to victory in that very race – still around 70% original, which isn’t half bad for a car as old as your gran!

For Bearman, it was an experience that clearly made an impression. “The power and acceleration is really impressive,” he told Motorsport Magazine afterwards. “Actually, I was quite shocked.” You can’t blame him – after all, not many 20-year-olds get to trade in a modern F1 car for one built when the sport itself was just making its mark.

Charles Leclerc x Ferrari 312B3

These historic drives can feel thrilling, even dreamlike. That said, there are no guarantees that decades-old machines will behave. Niki Lauda’s Ferrari 312 B3-74 was hugely competitive, taking 10 pole positions that season. However, it wasn’t nearly as reliable...

Charles Leclerc found that out the hard way in 2022 when, during a demonstration run at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, a braking issue sent him and the iconic 1974 Ferrari into the barriers.

Leclerc later summed up the moment on Twitter: “When you thought you already had all the bad luck of the world in Monaco and you lose the brakes into Rascasse with one of the most iconic historical Ferrari Formula 1 cars.” Good thing he changed his luck in 2024...!

Valtteri Bottas x BAR Honda 001

At the season opener in Australia, Valtteri Bottas took to the track in the British American Racing (BAR) Honda 001, a beautiful car that marked the start of what would eventually become today’s Mercedes team. BAR, Honda, Brawn GP, and now Mercedes – the team has gone through several eras and owners, and this was a rare chance to celebrate that history for the team.

The BAR 001 showcased the eye-catching aesthetics of late-1990s F1, with its bold split livery: Lucky Strike on one side, 555 on the other. It was also the very first car to be built at Brackley, which added another layer of significance and a lovely nod to the team’s heritage on the 75th anniversary of F1.

Sebastian Vettel x FW14B

Sebastian Vettel has always had a soft spot for the sport's history, and where better to indulge than Goodwood Festival of Speed? He took Nigel Mansell’s iconic Williams’ “Red Five” FW14B up the infamous Goodwood hill, a car that dominated the 1992 season with 10 wins – it's still regarded as one of the best F1 cars ever.

For the run itself, Vettel blended his love of F1 history and sustainability, by powering the car with carbon-neutral fuel as part of his ‘Race Without Trace’ initiative. And he didn’t stop there, Vettel also got behind the wheel of Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/8 as part of this project. Seeing the four-time World Champion whizz past packed-out crowds in some of the most legendary cars in history was a crossover every motorsport fan dreams of.

Mick Schumacher x Benetton B194

In 2017, while still racing in F3, Mick Schumacher got a taste of family history at Spa-Francorchamps. To mark 25 years since his father’s first F1 win at the Belgian circuit in 1992, Mick took to the track in his Benetton Ford B194 – the car that had helped Michael Schumacher secure his first World Championship two years later in 1994, winning eight races along the way.

Mick made the occasion even more personal with a special helmet, split between his own usual design and his father's. “It was just great,” he told BBC Sport. “It was a pleasure for me to drive and it was emotional and fun and amazing. There is a lot of history with it and I’m really happy I was able to drive it.”

The experience was an early milestone in his career, and no-doubt inspired him as he went on to win the F2 title, race for Haas in 2021/2022, and is now carving out a new successful chapter in the WEC.