Tony Kanaan recreates hero Ayrton Senna's 34-year-old unseen clip with a hilarious spin

IndyCar champion Tony Kanaan shared unseen footage of his racing hero Ayrton Senna in a post on the social media platform X. The Brazilian racer, who is now Team Principal of the IndyCar team, Arrow McLaren, recreated his compatriot Senna's clip from a go-kart race 34 years ago. In it, the three-time F1 champ is seen changing the rules for a go-kart race at the last moment.

Senna, who was driving for McLaren then, competed against the next generation of racers in the race. Before the race, he changed the rules to invert the starting grid.

"Let's change the rules. We'll invert the grid. The fastest will start last, second-fastest starts in second to last, (and so on)," Ayrton Senna said in the video shared by Tony Kanaan on X. "I took everyone by surprise. No one was expecting this," he proudly told a person in attendance, as seen in the video.

"This is a democracy. I'm in charge," the Brazilian F1 legend hilariously added.

Kanaan, who was 16 then and one of the fastest, had to start from the back of the grid. To everybody's surprise, despite the disadvantage, he overtook every single rival, including Senna, to win the race.

Kanaan, who has a sim racing business, made the second half of his X post about him channeling his late idol's mischievous side. In a clip taken from when he hosted an iRacing championship, the 2013 Indy 500 winner is seen saying:

"So guys, here's the thing. I'll explain how the rules will be. I decide who will race and who won't. Ok? And that's it. This is a democracy, just like Senna did with me in his go-kart race. Here, I am in charge. You'll start last. Period."

In 2020, Kanaan recalled the podium celebration after that race and how he still cherishes that moment when Ayrton Senna joined in on the celebrations.

"During the podium, one of the nicest photos I have and I show my kids, it’s me on the podium popping the champagne, and actually he (Senna) came behind me and poured champagne on my back. And he actually said at that time, you can clearly see on the video, 'You’re very talented. If you ever need anything apart from money, you let me know,'" the 2004 IndyCar champ said via F1oversteer.

When Ayrton Senna admitted Tony Kanaan was 'better than him'

Tony Kanaan celebrates after winning the 2013 Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

In 1993, Tony Kanaan's racing career was on the verge of ending. The Brazilian racer had run out of money to fund his seat with Lotus in the Formula Vauxhall championship. Fortunately, the series' race weekend in Hockenheim coincided with F1's race at the iconic German circuit.

Kanaan had secured pole position for the race, after which he met Ayrton Senna, who was in his final season with McLaren. He explained his financial predicament to his idol, and they chatted for a few minutes before Kanaan returned to his motorhome.

To his surprise, a few hours later, Senna showed up there unannounced and assured the team boss of Kanaan's supreme talent.

"A couple of hours later, we’re back in our truck and somebody knocks on the door. We open the door and it’s him (Senna). I turned white, he introduced himself, and asked, 'Who is the team owner?' I said, 'Him' (pointing to team owner), and he said, ‘I just came to say hi and I came to talk to you to tell you that this kid is better than me. You should hire him,’" Kanaan said via F1oversteer.

"I got the job for the rest of the year in 1993. He became close friends, more of a mentor actually because of the age difference," he added.

Senna tragically passed away after suffering a fatal crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Imola. It was only his third race with Williams.

In 2023, Tony Kanaan got the prized opportunity to drive his hero's championship-winning 1991 McLaren MP4/6 at Sonoma Raceway during the Velocity Invitational vintage event. He retired from professional racing after his final race, the 2023 Indy 500, with Arrow McLaren.