Bruno Senna plans to let world champion Antonelli drive Ayrton's 1986 Lotus next year

Bruno Senna is planning to put 2026 Formula 1 world champion Kimi Antonelli behind the wheel of Ayrton Senna’s 1986 Lotus 98T next year, after the Mercedes driver visited the family estate in Brazil and became so captivated by the car he barely wanted to leave it.

Antonelli arrived at the estate days after clinching his maiden F1 title at the Mexican Grand Prix, becoming the youngest driver in the history of the series to win the championship. It was there that Bruno, a former F1 driver himself, watched the 20-year-old explore every detail of the turbocharged Lotus his uncle had raced nearly four decades ago.

“It was really, really fun to see him,” Bruno told the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast. “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.”

Antonelli’s obvious affection for the car immediately planted the seed of a more meaningful drive. “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,” Bruno said. “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!’”

The visit was not limited to sitting in historic machinery. Antonelli also lapped the go-kart circuit that Ayrton Senna designed on the estate, and Bruno was left in little doubt about what makes the Italian a world champion.

“Finally, we drove on the go-kart track that Ayrton designed,” Bruno said. “Kimi was incredible. He was so fast, so consistent. 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. He couldn’t move 10cm off because then 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.”

Bruno added, with characteristic candour, that the gap between them on track amounted to more than just a weight difference: “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.”