Video: Tony Kanaan fires Senna’s ’91 McLaren around Sonoma

13th November 2023

The 2023 Velocity Invitational had plenty of highlights, but this was probably the most momentous of the weekend, as Tony Kanaan stepped into his hero Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/6 for some flying laps around the frantic Sonoma Raceway.

It’s the car that Senna drove to seven victories during his third and final world championship-winning year in 1991, and Kanaan was given the opportunity to sit in the seat of his idol to experience that howling 3.5-litre Honda V12.

This is no idle demonstration run, either. Clearly, since Kanaan has become part of the McLaren family following his run for the team at the Indy 500, he has been given the green light to enjoy this car as much as possible.

He is absolutely flooring it as he flies past the pit lane on his opening lap, and you can see as he begins to build up temperature and confidence that his bravery increases corner by corner, carrying more and more speed through each apex.

As an IndyCar Series champion in 2004, and a 16-time winner, Kanaan has plenty of pedigree in single seaters, but this video suggests this might be one of the most special things he has ever done over a near-30-year career.

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