A FORMULA 1 fan was found dead at her hotel in Tokyo – tragically just hours before she was due to fly back home.
Amanda Borges da Silva, 30, who had travelled from Brazil to Japan to watch the Grand Prix was found dead after a fire was extinguished at the building.
Her friend James Fernandes told Brazilian media that she was about to fly back from Japan to Brazil on Thursday.
He said: “She was located near Narita airport in Tokyo, it was in the early hours of yesterday morning. Her flight was on Thursday. She had been out of Brazil since March.”
Amanda, a researcher and avid Formula One fan, had travelled to Japan to watch the GP on April 6 – won by Max Verstappen.
Japanese media reported that she had been in a building that had caught fire and that authorities have arrested a Sri Lankan man who is thought to have left the premises without extinguishing the fire.
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The cause of her death remains unclear.
Amanda reportedly lived in Sao Paulo and had a Bachelor’s degree in literature, along with a Master’s degree in linguistics.
She shared her love for Formula One with her followers on social media.
Following news of her death, one of her followers wrote: “Thank you for all the reels, memes and all the chats, especially those about Formula One, that we talked about.
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“I promise to never forget you, my dear friend. Watch over us from wherever you are.”
Her family have reportedly asked the Brazilian authorities for assistance in repatriating her body.
It comes after Max Verstappen became the first driver in history to win four straight races at Suzuka.
The Red Bull superstar beat McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who finished second and third, respectively.
Meanwhile, at the Formula One Miami Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton has refused to apologise to his Ferrari bosses after his heated outburst on the team radio.
The 40-year-old lost his cool after being told to hold position behind Charles Leclerc despite running on the quicker medium compound tyre as he wanted to catch Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli.
He blasted down the team radio to engineer Riccardo Adami: “You want me to sit here the whole race?” with Adami then replying: “I’ll come back to you. Wanna keep the DRS to Charles.”
Hamilton added: “This is not good team work, that’s all I’m going to say…
“In China I got out of the way when you were on a different strategy… Have a tea break while you’re at it! Come on.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
