Senna Legacy Lives On: Bruno Senna Shatters Records in McLaren’s Ultimate Tribute

UK luxury supercar manufacturer McLaren Automotive paid tribute to legendary F1 driver Ayrton Senna and held a special event with his nephew Bruno Senna at the Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire, England. McLaren is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s death in 2024 and is holding various events to honor his achievements and spirit, and this Donington Park race is one of them.

On May 29, 2024, Bruno Senna set out to recreate the race in the hypercar McLaren Senna as a tribute to his uncle and McLaren racing driver Ayrton Senna. Donington Park, where Bruno Senna drove on this day, is the place where Ayrton Senna won with a lap time of 1 minute 18.029 seconds on April 11, 1993, and is a historical location where the race that is said to be the greatest lap in F1 history was held.

Bruno broke through the circuit in 1 minute 30.5 seconds in a McLaren Senna, setting a new unofficial lap record in the production road car McLaren Senna at the same place where Ayrton lifted the championship trophy. The McLaren Senna, created in commemoration of Ayrton Senna, is a hypercar with powerful power, a 4.0-liter V8 twin-turbo engine, a maximum horsepower of 800PS, and a maximum torque of 800Nm (European standard).

A former F1 racer, Bruno Senna, said: “Ayrton, on that first lap at Donington Park in 1993, was on another planet, in another dimension to all these different elite drivers. It was an incredible achievement to put on such a drive in such difficult, tricky conditions and against more competitive cars. It’s one of those races you cannot forget, like Portugal in 1985 and Brazil in 1991.”

Additionally, Bruno shared his experience driving the McLaren Senna 30 years later. He described it as a new and thrilling experience due to the hypercar’s ultra-lightweight and strong downforce, allowing him to enjoy a higher speed and driving experience.

Meanwhile, Ayrton Senna’s Donington Park race left records in many ways. Ayrton Senna drove a McLaren MP4/8 race car but started somewhat sluggishly, taking 5th place on the opening lap, with the track surface soaked from the pouring rain. However, in a circuit of about 4 km (2.5 miles), Ayrton Senna overtook the race car ahead of him with his instinctive driving skills and expertise, quickly rising to first place and winning with an overwhelming gap of 1 minute and 23 seconds from second place. In addition to the fact that this was the most significant margin of victory in Ayrton Senna’s F1 career, the fantastic overtaking drive continued to be talked about and was called the Lap of the Gods.

The Donington Park Race encapsulates the enterprising legacy of Ayrton Senna, who pushed race car performance to its extreme limits and established new records. Based on the spirit of Ayrton Senna, McLaren’s philosophy is to make a supercar optimized for both track and road.

“Ayrton was a master of displays of incredible performance created through sheer dedication to his craft, always seeking perfection. This tenacious drive for only the best made him a perfect fit for McLaren, where this ethos endures in everything we do on the road and track. To create a new piece of history linking Senna to Donington, with his nephew Bruno in the car named after and inspired by Ayrton’s legacy, is a special moment.” Michael Leiters, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive

Meanwhile, at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix, McLaren also displayed a Race Car Livery honoring Ayrton Senna and the Senna Sempre Livery, which means together with Ayrton Senna.