‘It showed why he’s a World Champion’ – Bruno Senna recounts Kimi Antonelli’s visit to his family farm

Bruno Senna – former F1 driver and nephew of three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna – has reflected on Kimi Antonelli’s trip to his family’s home, which saw the 20-year-old try out a karting track designed by the legendary Brazilian racer.

Shortly after securing his maiden Drivers’ Championship in Mexico City, Antonelli was invited to the Senna estate and got the chance to sit in the Lotus 98T, the car that Senna raced during the 1986 season.

He also met members of the family as he walked in the footsteps of his racing idol, whom he celebrated with a distinctive yellow and green tribute helmet at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

“We’ve known that he has been a super fan of Ayrton – and his dad as well, Marco – for a while, and I met him in Imola in 2024,” Senna explained on the latest episode of official podcast F1 Beyond The Grid.

“He was there and he was dressed from head to toe in Senna gear. He was doing Formula 2 there, and it was great to meet him. We had a nice chat. It’s been so fun to have him be such a supporter.

“We got in touch with him and we offered the opportunity to come to the farm, and we knew that he would enjoy it. We took him around the farm. We took him into the little room where Ayrton did his aeroplane models, and he loved it.

“It was really, really fun to see him. We have the Lotus, the ‘86 car. We had him jump inside the car, and he didn’t want to leave the car. You had the turbo boost knob, and he’s exploring everything – having an anti-roll bar thing that you can change, and there’s a gearstick.

“This is something that was quite funny – I was talking [about] next year when Lotus or McLaren want to do something, we can try to organise for [him] to drive one of these cars because he fits really well in the car.

“You know, his height is perfect for it. His dad was like, ‘I’m not sure if you can drive the manual car’, and Kimi was like, ‘sure I can!’. Finally, we drove on the go-kart track that Ayrton designed.

“It was a really fun thing when I was a kid, and Kimi was incredible. He was so fast, so consistent. We had a fun time. I would say that I was slower because I’m 10kg heavier, but I think there’s a bit more than that in it, to be honest! He was amazing.

“The track was very dirty, very full of stone. Kimi was able to create a groove, and he was able to stay within that groove so consistently. It was really impressive. He couldn’t move 10cm off because then you don’t even run wide – you go onto the grass and spin out because it was so dirty. It was a really cool experience and showed why he’s a World Champion.”

Over 30 years on from his untimely death at Imola, Senna is remembered as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time and continues to motivate different generations – including his nephew, who raced in the sport between 2009 and 2011.

Thinking back to his personal experience on the grid, the younger Senna shared his admiration of Antonelli for maintaining his “humble” approach even whilst fighting for a title.

“When they landed, Marco came out of the helicopter and he had teary eyes because it was something that they never expected,” he said. “Marco was driving when he was younger, and I think he was able to instill this passion, this love for it in Kimi.

“But it also depends on the character of the child to take on this passion. I think Kimi – once he really understood what Ayrton represented as a human being, not only as a racing driver – got really inspired.

“He’s incredibly humble, incredibly down to earth. I think it’s so easy for your mind to explode when you get into F1. This is a world where you’re a god and everybody is [at] your feet, so it’s so easy for you to just lose your track.

“I think that it’s a difficult trait to be humble and have the right aggression, have the right attitude towards the sport at the same time. I think there are a lot of young drivers who are coming in with a really nice, very natural attitude into F1.

“Gabi [Bortoleto] has a really great heart, Ollie Bearman, Pierre [Gasly]. It makes me really proud of young kids who could be full of themselves, but they stay humble.

“I think this world is a very difficult world, very complicated. I’ve been here. I know how tricky it is to navigate this paddock, and to have people that are able to still be themselves throughout their F1 careers… For me, it’s essential and very pleasing to see.”

To listen to this week’s episode of F1 Beyond The Grid, simply hit go on the audio player above or click here to listen via your preferred podcasting platform.

You can also check out a huge selection of previous episodes – spanning every decade of F1 – in our dedicated F1 Beyond The Grid library.

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