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Bruno Senna plans Kimi Antonelli drive in Ayrton Senna's 1986 Lotus

Bruno Senna wants Andrea Kimi Antonelli to drive Ayrton Senna's Lotus 98T next year.

By , Sports writer

· 2 min read

Bruno Senna
Bruno Senna (file photo) Photo: United Autosports / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Former F1 driver Bruno Senna said he hopes to arrange for 2026 world champion Kimi Antonelli to drive Ayrton Senna's 1986 Lotus 98T after the Italian visited the family estate in Brazil.

Key takeaways

  • Kimi Antonelli visited the Senna family estate in Brazil after winning the 2026 F1 title at the Mexican Grand Prix.
  • Antonelli sat in Ayrton Senna's 1986 Lotus 98T and did not want to leave the car.
  • Bruno Senna said Antonelli fits the car well and hopes to organise a drive next year.
  • Antonelli also drove on Ayrton Senna's go-kart track at the estate.

Former Formula 1 driver Bruno Senna has revealed plans to let 2026 Formula 1 world champion Kimi Antonelli drive one of Ayrton Senna's historic cars next year, speaking on F1's Beyond The Grid podcast after Antonelli visited the Senna family estate in Brazil.

Antonelli arrived at the estate days after clinching his maiden F1 championship at the Mexican Grand Prix, becoming the youngest driver in the history of the series to win the title.

The Italian races for Mercedes and has won nine Grands Prix since his debut in 2025.

Antonelli at the Senna estate

Bruno Senna said he and Antonelli have known each other since meeting at Imola in 2024, when Antonelli was competing in Formula 2 and dressed head to toe in Senna gear.

Bruno offered him the opportunity to visit the ranch, where they showed him the room where Ayrton used to build model airplanes.

Bruno said Antonelli barely wanted to get out of the Lotus 98T, the car Ayrton raced in 1986, exploring the turbo boost knob, the adjustable anti-roll bar and the gearstick.

Bruno said Antonelli's height is perfect for the car and hopes to organise a drive next year when Lotus or McLaren want to do something. Antonelli's father joked that he was not sure if Kimi could drive the manual car, but Kimi replied that he could.

Kart track and context

The pair also drove on the go-kart track Ayrton designed on the estate.

Bruno said the track was very dirty and full of stones, and that Antonelli was able to create a groove and stay within it consistently, unable to move 10 centimetres off without going onto the grass and spinning out.

Bruno called it impressive and said it showed why Antonelli is a world champion.

Ayrton Senna was a Brazilian racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1984 to 1994, won three titles with McLaren and held the record for most pole positions at the time of his death.

Bruno Senna said he thinks Antonelli was inspired once he understood what Ayrton represented as a human being, describing him as humble and down-to-earth.

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