The ‘roller-coaster’ Portuguese Grand Prix made its remarkable return last year and it was the first Formula 1 race held at the circuit built in 2008 in Portimão. The circuit’s second Grand Prix has been very much eagerly awaited upon and will take place this Sunday, 2 May, at 3pm. The race is over 66 laps and covers a circuit of 4.684 kilometres.

Incredible artist HUARIU has been commissioned to create his second art piece on a couple’s football pitch in the Algarve following the popularity of his Lewis Hamilton portrait on the same pitch, which went viral last year.

This time his piece is a heart-warming tribute towards Aryton Senna with Lewis Hamilton, which took 10 consecutive days without stopping to complete, in which HUARIU used 1,800 litres of paint and covered 5,500 square meters.

He faced some challenges in terms of the weather as the sun and rain made the grass grow so quickly, which created much more work for him and a lot more paint but he reigns victorious and has completed the piece.

Once he finished the piece, HUARIU said “what a journey it was. Two flat tires, I’m sun burnt everywhere and I can barely walk today. Really didn't think it was going to work out half way through.” Despite any difficulties, HUARIU really pulled it out the bag and completed the emotional tribute.

The couple who commissioned the piece who are big Formula 1 fans had previously commissioned HUARIU to create something in support for the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix and they “wanted to continue to offer opportunities to this talented artist”. Last year’s portrait piece of Lewis Hamilton generated so much excitement on social media and the video of the project was even shared and praised by Hamilton himself which had over one million views.

HUARIU has also posted this recent piece on his social media accounts (@huariu) and had this to say about the commission "Even Legends Have Heroes" Tribute to the great (@lewishamilton) who broke all barriers last year in Portimão and to (@oficialayrtonsenna) who had his first ever win in f1 35 years ago in Estoril. A huge thanks to my friends who helped me tremendously to push this through. To the girls behind the scenes who supported and trusted me so much and to Simon and Amanda for giving me another opportunity for me to test my limits. Thank you so much for believing in me.” I urge you to also check out the promo video which is on the artists Facebook page and which has recently been promoted by the official Formula 1 Facebook page which says “Wow, Watch Portuguese street artist HUARIU’s unique tribute to Lewis Hamilton’s record-breaking win come to life…”.

“This time the brief was to include Senna with Hamilton, who are two of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history. It is also well known that Senna was a huge inspiration to Hamilton when growing up. Hamilton had previously said that he looked up to Aryton Senna “because of the way he raced, the colours of his helmet, the passion he talked with, and his victories but also the way he faced alone, a system that wasn’t always kind to him. “Something Hamilton experienced too in his career, albeit for different reasons. He said to himself: “I want to become a driver like him and get to F1.” I liked cars and I considered it the best job in the world.”

Additionally, what also links these two drivers is that Senna won his first Formula 1 race in Portugal at the Estoril Grand Prix in 1985 with a total time of 1:21:007 and what would lead to 41 grand prix victories. Last year Hamilton won with a lap record time of 1:18:750 at the Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão. Both drivers have dominated the podium at the Portuguese Grand Prix and last year it also recorded Hamilton’s 92nd career victory, which was also one for the History books as he overtook Schumacher’s record for the most Formula 1 wins. Currently in round three of the 2021 World Championship, Hamilton leads with 44 points, after winning the Bahrain race, followed extremely closely by Verstappen with 43 points who won at Imola and in third position is Norris with 27 points. With only one point for the fastest lap between Hamilton and Verstappen, it is guaranteed to be a duel throughout and some might say a race to close to call, nevertheless, it is not one you will want to miss.

See the video on the making of this amazing piece of art here: https://fb.watch/5bCecQ_hWj/

Author

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes