Senna at Williams, nothing is finalized

While he was thought to be in pole position to support Kimi Räikkönen in the event of Vitaly Petrov’s dismissal, Bruno Senna also found himself sidelined due to the promotion obtained by Romain Grosjean, who was ultimately supported by the French oil company Total. Consequently, Senna, whose various experiences in Formula One both with HRT in 2010 and with Lotus Renault GP in 2011 did not really allow for an assessment of his potential, is searching for a seat for 2012.

There are currently only two spots remaining on the Melbourne starting grid, and one of them is at Grove. The second single-seater of the Williams-Renault team is highly contested and, according to current rumors, could just as well accommodate its former occupant Rubens Barrichello (who reportedly managed to gather five million euros), as Adrian Sutil (even if this option seems to have cooled considerably in recent days) or Bruno Senna (who is also backed by several investors).

He states, however, on his Facebook page, that nothing has changed on his end: « Despite some rumors, my situation is the same as before. I haven’t been confirmed in any team and I’m still in the running for a spot in F1. Let’s keep fighting! » A position that contrasts with the end of 2011, a period during which the Brazilian had practically settled for a third driver position in order to occasionally drive on Fridays.

The financial difficulties of the team founded by Franck Williams and Patrick Head suggest that the spot might go to the driver who brings the largest funding. Beyond the financial aspect, the association between Williams-Renault and Bruno Senna could allow the British team to ride the nostalgia wave – something they had already done last season by bringing back the colors and designs of the Williams cars sponsored in the 1990s by the cigarette brand Rothmans –, as Ayrton Senna’s last race car was indeed a Williams powered by Renault in 1994.