Bruno Senna recounts Kimi Antonelli’s exciting visit to the family ranch

Bruno Senna, a former Formula 1 driver and nephew of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna, recounted Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s exciting visit to the Senna family estate in Brazil in an interview with the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast.

“We’ve known for a while that he’s a big fan of Ayrton—and so is his father, Marco—and I met him in Imola in 2024,” Bruno Senna explained. “Two years ago, he was there, dressed head to toe in Senna gear. He was competing in the Formula 2 Grand Prix, and it was fantastic to meet him. We had a nice chat. It was truly a pleasure to have him as a supporter.”

“We reached out to him and offered him the opportunity to come to the ranch; we were sure he’d enjoy it. We showed him around the ranch. We took him to the little room where Ayrton used to build his model airplanes, and he was thrilled.”

“It was really, really fun to watch him. We have the Lotus, the ’86 car. We let him get in the car, and he didn’t want to get out. There was the knob to adjust the turbo pressure, and he was exploring everything—there was even the adjustable anti-roll bar and the gearshift lever.”

“In the end, we drove on the go-kart track designed by Ayrton. The track was very dirty, full of rocks. Kimi managed to carve out a perfect line and maintain it with great consistency. It was truly impressive. He couldn’t move even 10 centimeters, because otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to widen his line at all—he would have ended up on the grass and lost control, given how dirty the track was. It was a fantastic experience and showed why he’s a world champion.”

“I think that once Kimi fully understood what Ayrton represented as a human being—not just as a driver—he was truly inspired,” Bruno continued. “He’s incredibly humble, incredibly down-to-earth. I think it’s very easy to lose your head when you enter Formula 1. It’s a world where you’re a god and everyone is at your feet, so it’s all too easy to lose your bearings. I think it’s a difficult balance to strike: being humble while also having the right aggression and the right attitude toward the sport. I believe there are many young drivers who come into F1 with a truly positive and very natural attitude.”