Senna, Donington Park 1993. Schumacher, Belgium 1991. Vettel, Brazil 2012. All era-defining drives from some of the greatest drivers on Earth. But none are as legendary as Lewis Hamilton in Tokyo 2023.
Those of us in the know will remember: Lewis in a white R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, later revealed to be a rental car, hooning around Tokyo while thirst-trapping the world’s Instagram feeds. Sure, many will remember his triumph in the 2021 Turkish GP, or his unbelievable championship clinch in the 2008 Brazilian GP. But to his true fans, Tokyo was his greatest drive. And he has topped it again with a new video.
It begins with quick, impressionistic cuts of Hamilton behind the wheel of another R34 GT-R–this time a Bayside Blue car on a set of white Nismo LMGT4 wheels. The co-driver and cameraman is the same as last year, the inimitable Tim Mcgurr, known as 13thwitness. The team is just beneath the famous Tokyo Tower and sets off into the night. “JUST ANOTHER NIGHT IN TOKYO,” the caption reads.
Hamilton then graces viewers with 90 seconds of unadulterated, color-graded, 4K vibes. The seven-time F1 champion takes the R34 around Tokyo’s Shuto Expressway, does donuts in a nondescript and empty parking lot, with the blue paint contrasting gorgeously with the yellow-tinged street lamps. Am I simping for this video? Possibly. Yes.
Compared to 2023, there’s quite a bit less bad-boy energy in this one. This is a man with a secure future in a red firesuit, ready to enter the final and perhaps greatest phase of his career. It’s shot more carefully, more beautifully, but with a good helping of breakin’ shit and getting away with it.
This is more than driving at the highest level. This is contributing to The Culture. Seven F1 titles? Sure, whatever. Being an icon while hooning around Tokyo? Proof that Hamilton can do it all.