After weeks of speculation, Williams has announced that Bruno Senna is to take the second seat alongside Pastor Maldonado, meaning the Senna name returns to Williams for the first time in 18 years. 2011 driver Rubens Barrichello is seemingly forced into retirement and drivers such as Adrian Sutil also remain on the sidelines.
With LRGP and Toro Rosso having dropped both of their drivers at the end of 2011, plus Sutil and Barrichello remaining without seats, a number of names have been suggested as Williams candidates. Tuesday’s confirmation sees Senna, now 28, join the team for which late uncle and triple World Champion Ayrton drove in 1994. For 2012, Williams also switches back to Renault engines.
"I feel very privileged that Williams has selected me as one of their race drivers," says Senna, who revealed to GPUpdate.net in December that he was in contact with the Grove-based squad. "The team has a great heritage and I hope I can help write a good chapter in their history. The evaluation process has been intense and methodical but the time I have spent in the factory has demonstrated that the team has great people and all the resources needed to achieve better things this season.
“It will be very interesting to drive for a team that my uncle has driven for, particularly as quite a few of the people here actually worked with Ayrton. Hopefully we can bring back some memories and create some great new ones too. I also want to get some good results in return for the support my country has given me to help get me to this position today. I am very proud to be Brazilian and more motivated than ever to demonstrate what I can do. Ever since I first sat in a go-kart I never wanted to do anything else.”
His own F1 career began with Hispania in 2010. Last year he was listed as a possible replacement for the injured Robert Kubica at Renault, eventually joining the team in place of Nick Heidfeld and scoring two points in his second race at Monza. Following the death of his uncle, Senna was taken out of karting by his family for several years. His own father perished in a motorcycle accident in 1996. In 2006 he was third overall in British Formula 3, then winning GP2 races in 2007 and 2008. The next year almost saw a switch to championship-winning Brawn GP alongside Jenson Button, although ironically it was the aforementioned Barrichello who was signed up.
Only a single vacancy at HRT now remains on the 2012 Formula 1 grid, alongside new recruit Pedro de la Rosa. Vitantonio Liuzzi claims to have two years remaining on his contract, but has acknowledged that his position will be in jeopardy should the Spanish team strike a deal with a more heavily-backed driver.
GPUpdate TV video:
Senna name returns to Williams
See also:
- The family is ecstatic, says Senna
- Full interview with Williams' Bruno Senna
- Senna insightful and capable, says Williams
- Barrichello: The future is wide open
- F1 2012: The grid so far
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