Bruno Senna Lalli (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈbrunu ˈsenɐ], born 15 October 1983 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver and the nephew of the late three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna. His mother is Ayrton's older sister, Viviane. His father, Flávio Lalli, died in a motorcycle crash in 1996. He wears a slightly modified version of his uncle's helmet. Senna made his Formula One début in 2010, driving for Hispania Racing. He moved to Renault in 2011, replacing Nick Heidfeld as a driver from August of that year,[1] and since January 2012 he is signed to the Williams team.
As a child, Bruno raced go-karts against Ayrton on the family farm, and Ayrton regarded his nephew's potential very highly. When leaving McLaren at the end of 1993, Ayrton said: "If you think I'm fast, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno".[2] Ayrton's death while driving a Williams at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, however, brought Bruno's own racing career to an abrupt halt.
At Imola in 2004, however, on the 10th anniversary of his uncle's death, Senna was given an example of his uncle's 1986 Lotus 98T as a gift from an Italian friend. Senna drove the car at the 2004 Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix meeting in São Paulo, at Interlagos, where Ayrton had won in 1991 and 1993.
Ayrton's McLaren team mate of the 1990–1992 seasons, Gerhard Berger is a close friend of the Senna family and has advised Senna on his career. Senna's sister, Bianca, meanwhile, has managed his affairs and sponsorship acquisition.
In 2004, Bruno competed in six races of the Formula BMW UK series for Carlin Motorsport, scoring six points.
In 2005, he moved on to the British Formula Three International Series, driving for the Räikkönen Robertson Racing team owned by then-McLaren Formula One driver Kimi Räikkönen and his business managers David and Steve Robertson. His results included three podium finishes in the last seven races of the season, as he finished tenth in the final standings. In 2006 he stayed with the team and finished third in the series standings behind champion and teammate Mike Conway and Oliver Jarvis, taking five victories. He won the opening two races of the series at Oulton Park in the wet. He again won the first race at Donington Park and then won the second race at Mugello in Italy, again in the wet.
Senna had a massive crash during the first race of round five of the series at Snetterton. On lap 2, he and Hitech Racing's Salvador Durán clashed wheels on the Revett Straight at nearly 150 mph (240 km/h). Senna's car took off just before the bridge, and may have even clipped it, while cartwheeling through the air.[3] His car landed violently and careered along and down the safety barrier for some distance, but Senna walked away. His car however was damaged beyond immediate repair and Senna missed out on the second race of the day.
On the rear wing of the car he had advertised the Ayrton Senna Foundation web page.
In 2006, Senna competed in the Formula Three support races at the 2006 Australian Grand Prix, winning three of the four races.[4][5]
On 28 May Senna made his first appearance on Monaco circuit, as a guest in the Porsche Supercup event. Unfortunately, he was forced to retire at the first corner because of a clutch failure.
In October 2006 he appeared in an eight-part weekly series called Vroom Vroom on British TV station Sky One. Each week he would drive a different car being tested on the show, as quickly as possible, to the top of a multi-storey car park.
In October 2006 Senna was said to be targeting a seat on the Formula One grid by 2009.[6] He signed to drive for the Red Bull-sponsored Arden International team for the 2007 GP2 Series. He finished fourth on his debut at Bahrain and soon after scored his first win in the feature race in Spain. In the single race Monaco event, Senna struggled owing to poor tyres.
During the four week break in the GP2 series between the Monaco and French races, Senna took part in the third round of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli European series at Silverstone on June 9 and 10, 2007. Driving an F430 on a weekend devoted to the 60th anniversary of Ferrari, Senna won both races, starting each from pole. The purpose of this involvement was to gain a better understanding of the circuit, which is on the GP2 calendar.
At Silverstone, a mistake during qualifying on the Friday meant Senna started 26th and last. After a great start Senna was able to finish 11th in the feature race. The sprint race was not any better in terms of points with a 10th place finish. A poor qualifying session at the Nurburgring for the feature race meant Senna started 16th but was up to ninth after a cleverly timed first pit stop. However he was given a drive-through penalty after being involved in a collision with Adam Carroll and ended up finishing a poor 15th. The Sprint race ended on the first lap after a collision. At Hungary for both races, Senna finished out of the top ten after struggling with the set-up of the car. The feature race in Turkey brought another poor result, however Senna finished sixth in the sprint race and with it came his first points since France. At Monza Senna finished fourth after starting fourteenth. Starting fifth for the sprint race Senna had an excellent start by moving up to second, however after contact with Luca Filippi resulted in bent steering, Senna managed to finish third and on the podium for the first time since France in July. At Spa Senna showed raw pace through practice and set the third fastest time early on during Qualifying for the feature race. However a stall on the grid meant he started 22nd and while fighting to make up ground he got a bit of oversteer and then the camber changed, ending his day in the tyre barrier. Starting at the back of the grid for the sprint race, Senna finished eighth leaving Belgium pointless. At the season finale in Valecia Spain, Senna ended the feature race with a DNF and thus starting the sprint race from 19th could only manage to finish 14th. This was a positive season on the whole for Senna finishing in the top 10 in only his third full year of single seater racing, with one win and three podiums.
Senna switched teams for the 2008 season, moving to iSport International, where his team-mate was Karun Chandhok.[7] He also drove for the team in the 2008 GP2 Asia Series. In the second round of the season at Istanbul Senna collided with a stray dog during the sprint race. The suspension of Senna's car was damaged in the incident, causing him to retire. Senna himself escaped without injury, while the dog died in the incident. Senna won the GP2 Feature race at Monte Carlo, the first time in 15 years since the Senna name has shown at the top of the leaderboards at the principality. It also moved Senna to first position in the points table, although he was to eventually finish runner-up in the championship to Giorgio Pantano.
Senna had been holding out for a Formula One drive for 2009, and after he realised this would not happen, he began looking at other opportunities to keep him "race fit" ahead of negotiations for a 2010 drive in Formula One. He tested with the AMG-Mercedes DTM team, but after holding talks with the outfit he decided he did not want to commit himself to the series.[8]
After testing an Oreca LMP1 car, Senna joined the team to race the 24 Hours of Le Mans[9] and the Le Mans Series. His first race was the 2009 1000 km of Catalunya, teamed with Stéphane Ortelli, finishing 3rd.
Bruno Senna sampled a contemporary Formula One car for the first time in November 2008 when he tested for Honda in Barcelona. Honda assessed the Brazilian during their first winter test at the Circuit de Catalunya on November 17–19. His tasks included an initial familiarisation with Honda's RA108 car and its systems before progressing to a full programme during which the team intended to evaluate his performance, technical skill and ability to work within a large team organisation.
Despite Senna, over the course of the three day test, coming to within 0.3 seconds of then Honda F1 racing driver Jenson Button, the later announcement that Honda would withdraw from Formula One with immediate effect amid the economic crisis appeared to have significantly lessened his opportunity of a 2009 race seat in Formula One, unless the squad were to find a buyer before the beginning of the season in March. Senna was expected to be the team's second driver were it to make the 2009 grid,[10] until Rubens Barrichello was reported to have re-signed with the team.[11] Senna decided not to sign with Mercedes for 2009 DTM season "to focus completely on his Formula One chances".[12] Bruno Senna said to the BBC in an interview that he did not want to negotiate with Lotus because of sentimental reasons as his uncle Ayrton Senna took his first win with Team Lotus. He also told the BBC that "I felt important to enter F1 now otherwise I would never be in it". He also told the BBC he had been negotiating with Manor GP, Campos Meta & one existing outfit rumoured to be Brawn GP as he was close to securing a drive the previous season but Barrichello renewed his contract with Brawn.[13] Rubens Barrichello admitted he was lucky to be driving for Brawn. Barrichello said "I'm just lucky that at this time F1 has changed a little bit". He also wished Bruno the very best in the future, saying he only had a position as Ross Brawn chose the more experienced person because of lack of testing time. He also said he was sure due to Senna's potential that he would get a drive next season.[14]
On 30 October 2009, Senna announced that he had signed a deal to race in Formula One in 2010;[15] on 31 October 2009, Adrián Campos confirmed that Senna would be driving for Campos Meta.[16] It was unclear whether Senna still had the drive after the takeover of Campos by José Ramón Carabante, with new team principal Colin Kolles saying the new-look team would need to find extra funding, review the existing operation, and announce the driver line up in due course, with no mention of Senna. On March 2, Campos announced a name change to Hispania Racing. Two days later, Karun Chandhok was confirmed as Senna's team-mate.[17]
Senna wore a plain yellow helmet at the
2010 Belgian Grand Prix to advertise a competition where fans could design his helmet for his
home race later in the year
After nine races, Senna was replaced for the British Grand Prix, with Sakon Yamamoto filling his seat.[18] Senna returned to the driver's seat for the German Grand Prix with Yamamoto replacing Chandhok in the team's other car.
On 7 January 2011, HRT announced that Senna would not drive for them during the 2011 season.[19]
On 31 January 2011, Senna was announced as a test and reserve driver for the Renault team.[20] On 9 February, the team confirmed that Senna would be sharing testing duties with Nick Heidfeld on the Saturday and Sunday of the four-day test at Jerez. This was to evaluate the drivers in preparation of replacing the injured Robert Kubica for the 2011 season.[21] Heidfeld was given the race seat on 16 February 2011.[22] On 24 July 2011, after the conclusion of the German Grand Prix, it was confirmed that Senna would make his first appearance of the 2011 season, replacing Heidfeld in the first free-practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix.[23]
On 22 August, Eddie Jordan reported that Senna would replace Nick Heidfeld for the remaining races of the 2011 season.[24] On 24 August this was confirmed by Renault.[1] He qualified seventh for his first race with the team, the Belgian Grand Prix, and finished 13th after colliding with Jaime Alguersuari at the first corner, for which Senna received a drive-through penalty. He finished ninth at the Italian Grand Prix, scoring his first Formula One points. In Singapore, the Renault cars struggled with grip on the slow street circuit, with Senna qualifying and finishing 15th, however he still finished ahead of teammate Petrov. Senna finished 16th in Japan, 13th in Korea, and 12th in the first Indian Grand Prix, after being forced to change tyres late in the race. In Abu Dhabi, Senna again finished 16th after receiving a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags, and suffering a KERS failure.[25] In the final race of the season, his home race in Brazil, Senna outqualfied Petrov for the third time, by starting ninth on the grid. On lap 10 of the race, Senna was involved in a collision with Michael Schumacher, for which Senna received a drive-through penalty,[26] and finished the race in 17th place.
On 9 December, it was announced that Romain Grosjean would partner Kimi Räikkönen at the team in 2012, leaving Senna without a drive.[27]
On 17 January 2012, Senna was confirmed as a Williams driver, where he partners Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado.[28] As his uncle had been racing for Williams at the time of his death, Senna first sought out his family's blessing before joining the team.[29][30] Senna qualified 14th for the Australian Grand Prix, and retired in the race's closing stages after contact with Felipe Massa; both drivers later agreed that it was a racing incident.[31] He was classified 16th, having completed around 90% of the race distance. On 25 March, Senna scored his first points for Williams at the Malaysian Grand Prix, finishing in sixth place, for which he earned eight points after coming through the field in changeable conditions. Senna's result in Sepang gained more points for the team than Williams had earned throughout the whole of the 2011 season. Three races later, his teammate Pastor Maldonado won his first Grand Prix in Spain. After the race, a fire broke out in the Williams garage. Senna's car was damaged and four crew members were treated for injuries.
Bruno Senna's helmet is a modified version of his uncle's helmet design: a yellow helmet with a green and blue S shaped stripe. The green stripe has a blue and white outline, while the blue stripe has a green and white outline. There is a green stripe under the chin area and a blue rounded rectangle in the top area.
† As Senna was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
* Season in progress.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
* Season in progress.
- ^ a b "Bruno Senna to race for Lotus Renault GP". Lotus Renault GP (Renault F1). 24 August 2011. http://www.lotusrenaultgp.com/6308-Bruno-Senna-to-race-for-Lotus.html. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- ^ "Formula 1 – The Official F1 Website". Formula1.com. 2009-11-12. http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2009/11/10214.html. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ page 72, Autosport magazine – July 20, 2006
- ^ "Senna repeats Oz F3 triumph | Page 1 | F3 News | Apr 2006". Crash.Net. 2006-04-01. http://www.crash.net/news_view~t~Senna-repeats-Oz-F3-triumph-~cid~11~id~127625.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Senna targets F1 for 2009". Manipe F1. 2006-10-30. http://www.manipef1.com/news/2006/index.php?id=1773. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
- ^ "Chandhok and Senna sign for iSport". autosport.com. 2007-12-19. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64436. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
- ^ "Mercedes confirms DTM talks with Bruno Senna". AutoCorse.net. 2009-03-07. http://www.autocorse.net/dtm-en/33600_Mercedes_confirms_DTM_talks_with_Bruno_Senna.php. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
- ^ "Senna joins ORECA for Le Mans". autosport.com. 2009-03-24. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73878.
- ^ "Senna signs for Honda?". grandprix.com. 2009-02-12. http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21178.html. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ "Barrichello secures new F1 deal". autosport.com. 2009-03-03. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73522. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ^ "Senna not part of Mercedes DTM team". autosport.com. 2009-04-17. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74548.
- ^ "Senna seals F1 drive with Campos". BBC News. 2009-10-31. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8311919.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ "'Lucky' Barrichello soothes Senna". BBC News. 2009-03-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7934674.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ "Campos set to announce Senna deal". autosport.com. 2009-10-30. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79879.
- ^ Noble, Jonathan (2009-10-31). "Campos honoured to give Senna F1 slot". Autosport.com. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79887. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
- ^ Noble, Jonathan (2010-03-04). "Chandhok announced as HRT driver". autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81842. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
- ^ Beer, Matt; Noble, Jonathan (2010-07-08). "Yamamoto to replace Senna in Britain". autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85082. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
- ^ "Bruno Senna out of the running for Hispania second seat". bbc.co.uk. 2011-01-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9349376.stm. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
- ^ "Senna, Grosjean confirmed as Renault third drivers". formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 31 January 2011. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2011/1/11686.html. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
- ^ "Renault hand Nick Heidfeld Jerez test drive opportunity". BBC Sport (BBC). 9 February 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9392434.stm. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
- ^ "Renault confirm Heidfeld as Kubica stand-in". formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 16 February 2011. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2011/2/11750.html. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
- ^ "Bruno Senna to drive for Renault in Hungary Practice". BBC Sport (BBC). 24 July 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/14268275.stm. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
- ^ "Bruno Senna replaces Nick Heidfeld at Renault, says Eddie Jordan". BBC Sport. 22 August 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/14624084.stm.
- ^ "Abu Dhabi: Race – selected team & driver quotes". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 13 November 2011. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2011/11/12791.html. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
- ^ "Senna describes ‘feeling of disappointment’ in Brazil". GPUpdate.net (GPUpdate). 27 November 2011. http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/272201/senna-describes-feeling-of-disappointment-in-brazil/. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
- ^ Noble, Jonathan (9 December 2011). "Romain Grosjean joins Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus Renault for 2012". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96698. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ^ Elizalde, Pablo (17 January 2012). "Williams confirms Bruno Senna will race for the team in F1 in 2012". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97056. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
- ^ Noble, Jonathan (17 January 2012). "Bruno Senna says he has family support to drive for Williams F1 team". Autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97061. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
- ^ Heublein, Stephan (17 January 2012). "Senna signs deal to complete Williams lineup". Autoblog. http://uk.autoblog.com/2012/01/17/senna-signs-deal-to-complete-williams-lineup/. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
- ^ Beer, Matt (18 March 2012). "Massa and Senna agree that no blame can be apportioned for late collision". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98174. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
Persondata |
Name |
Senna, Bruno |
Alternative names |
|
Short description |
|
Date of birth |
15 October 1983 |
Place of birth |
São Paulo, Brazil |
Date of death |
|
Place of death |
|