Watch: Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel get emotional after equalling Ayrton Senna's race wins in F1

Both Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel managed to equal and surpass the total number of race wins by the late three-time world champion Ayrton Senna.

Senna is widely considered one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. Despite him not being statistically the most successful racing driver, many racers idolized Senna, including Schumacher himself.

In 2000, Schumacher won his 41st race at the Italian GP equalling his race win record with Senna. During the press conference following the race, a report addressed the race win record and whether it meant something to Schumacher. At that point, the Ferrari driver became extremely emotional and simply said:

"Yes, it does mean a lot to me... Sorry."

Second- and third-placed Mika Hakkinen and Ralf Schumacher consoled Michael and asked if the press conference could be postponed.

Fast forward to 2015, Sebastian Vettel also equaled Ayrton Senna's race win record after winning the Singapore GP. Speaking to the media after the race, he was unable to express his feelings in words.

He praised both Michael Schumacher and Senna for what they achieved in the sport. With a smile, Vettel concluded that he would not talk about it, but it felt surreal to him.

"It's difficult, I can't really put it in words. Yeah, Michael obviously has played a massive role since I grew up with racing, Prost less but I was aware. And then Senna, I think everyone who loves racing knows about Senna. So... I prefer not to talk about it. It seems surreal," Vettel said.

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Lewis Hamilton on matching Ayrton Senna's race wins in F1

Lewis Hamilton also equaled Ayrton Senna's race win record back in the 2015 F1 Japanese GP.

On several occasions, Hamilton had always named Senna as his racing idol. In the past, the Mercedes star had received the Brazilian's special helmet as a gift from Senna's family and even received citizenship from Brazil as well.

After winning the 2015 F1 Japanese GP, Hamilton hailed Mercedes for working hard throughout the weekend and giving him a strong car. He later expressed how it did not feel real that he finally had equal amount of race wins as his idol.

"I'm so happy right now. The team did a fantastic job this weekend, it's great to be back up here as a team with the one-two. Thanks to the team for working so hard to make sure we got good starts. For me to come here to a race where I used to love watching Ayrton drive and to match his wins - I can't really describe it, it doesn't feel real at the moment," Hamilton said (via ESPN).

The story for Lewis Hamilton did not stop after equalling Ayrton Senna's race wins. The Brit went on to surpass seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher's race win record of 91 and became the F1 driver with most race wins.

His current tally stands at 103 race wins, with his last victory coming at the 2021 F1 Saudi Arabian GP.