Petrov / Senna what next

[JMC1]

Petrov / Senna what next
I bet Petrov with his sponsorship is shocked not to have been retained.

Williams ?

[matt3001]

True but Romain is much faster and brings a fair bit of wealth with him from Switzerland.

I am sure back in the EuroF3 days he was running around with bank of Geneve sponsorship all over the car.

I met him a few years back, great guy to boot!

[groomi]

JMC1 said:

Petrov / Senna what next
I bet Petrov with his sponsorship is shocked not to have been retained.

Williams ?

Probably not a bad move for Williams. He brings much needed cash and is certainly better than your typical pay-driver. The Renault may have been good at the beginning of the season, but podiums don't happen by accident. His driving this season contained far fewer errors than previously and Heidfield didn't really get anything more out of the car.

Senna on the other hand is probably finished in F1. He's had two chances to attract attention (HRT and Renault) and although neither cars were great, he hasn't done anything to show he's worthy of a better car.

[RJB_666]

matt3001 said:

True but Romain is much faster and brings a fair bit of wealth with him from Switzerland.

I am sure back in the EuroF3 days he was running around with bank of Geneve sponsorship all over the car.

I met him a few years back, great guy to boot!

I believe he was actually working at that bank while he was racing. He deserves a fair chance though. Being thrown into a car part way through the season with no testing against a worthy two time champion was never going to work well. I think he will have the upper hand over Kimi.

As for Petrov, i've never rated him that highly. I would like to see Senna in at least a half decent car right from the start of the season. I really think he has some potential to offer given a proper chance.

[Cyder]

RJB_666 said:

I believe he was actually working at that bank while he was racing. He deserves a fair chance though.

I believe during his first F1 stint he was still working full time in banking and juggled the racing/work!

[weyland yutani]

Petrov and Maldonado would be a laughable driver pairing and would be the final nail in the coffin for Williams.

[Fire99]

RJB_666 said:

I would like to see Senna in at least a half decent car right from the start of the season. I really think he has some potential to offer given a proper chance.

I'm not sure if i'm over sentimental about it or if he has real pace but both Brundle and Coulthard have been pretty complementary of Senna's performance, considering stepping into the car mid-season. I can't be sure either way but I'm not convinced we've seen enough of Senna to make a deciding judgement call.
I hope he gets a driver in '12.

[RJB_666]

Fire99 said:

RJB_666 said:

I would like to see Senna in at least a half decent car right from the start of the season. I really think he has some potential to offer given a proper chance.

I'm not sure if i'm over sentimental about it or if he has real pace but both Brundle and Coulthard have been pretty complementary of Senna's performance, considering stepping into the car mid-season. I can't be sure either way but I'm not convinced we've seen enough of Senna to make a deciding judgement call.
I hope he gets a driver in '12.

I think a part of my thoughts for wanting him to get a seat is for sentimental reasons. But also from seeing him at Silverstone in GP2. I was very impressed with his driving. In a similar way to how i was impressed with Sergio Perez in GP2 in 2010.

[Giles240]

Fire99 said:

I'm not sure if i'm over sentimental about it or if he has real pace but both Brundle and Coulthard have been pretty complementary of Senna's performance, considering stepping into the car mid-season. I can't be sure either way but I'm not convinced we've seen enough of Senna to make a deciding judgement call.
I hope he gets a driver in '12.

Unlike Grosjean who has been a champion in pretty much every formula he has competed in, Senna's junior formulae record is less than exceptional.

At HRT Senna didnt really put Chandock in the shade, and this season at Renault did very little aside from a couple of decent qualifying sessions both of which he converted into early incidents. Having hit Schumacher at Interlagos and having served a drive through, he finished miles behind MS who had to do a whole lap on 3 wheels, and ended up finishing behind Kovalainen after a totally lacklustre drive........

I think it would be a far greater shame if Sutil didn't find a seat for 2012

[JxT]

Giles240 said:

Unlike Grosjean who has been a champion in pretty much every formula he has competed in, Senna's junior formulae record is less than exceptional.

At HRT Senna didnt really put Chandock in the shade, and this season at Renault did very little aside from a couple of decent qualifying sessions both of which he converted into early incidents. Having hit Schumacher at Interlagos and having served a drive through, he finished miles behind MS who had to do a whole lap on 3 wheels, and ended up finishing behind Kovalainen after a totally lacklustre drive........

I think it would be a far greater shame if Sutil didn't find a seat for 2012

Pretty dumb analysis there to be honest.

Schumacher was in a car that was good enough to finish 5th, Bruno frankly wasn't. He overperformed in the Renault in qualifying and the early stages of the race. That he didn't keep up with Schuey after the incident is more down to car speed than pace over the weekend.

And I disagree with your, and the marshals, view that Bruno was at fault.

Since he came in, at Spa (?), he had been better than Petrov... Despite Vitaly knowing the team and having half a season of experience in the car... That is a good achievement.

His major problem is that it frankly raises the question - "Maybe Vitaly isn't that quick after all?"

[drakart]

Giles240 said:

Senna's junior formulae record is less than exceptional.

That's a bit unfair on Bruno. He has very little racing experience in comparison to others. He came to the game late and has done well for the amount of driving he has done.

[Giles240]

JxT said:

Pretty dumb analysis there to be honest.

Since he came in, at Spa (?), he had been better than Petrov... Despite Vitaly knowing the team and having half a season of experience in the car... That is a good achievement.

His major problem is that it frankly raises the question - "Maybe Vitaly isn't that quick after all?"

Your right maybe Petrov isnt that quick............but Senna was certainly not beeter than Petrov, in qualifying over 8 races, it was a 4 all draw but Petrov beat Senna in 6 races, and in one of the others retired. Petrov scored more points to boot, so how was Senna better????

[Giles240]

drakart said:

That's a bit unfair on Bruno. He has very little racing experience in comparison to others. He came to the game late and has done well for the amount of driving he has done.

2004 Asian Formula Renault Challenge Shangsai FRD GT Tires Team 1 0 0 ? 1 N/A NC†
Formula BMW UK Carlin Motorsport 6 0 0 0 0 6 21st
2005 British Formula Three Räikkönen Robertson Racing 21 0 1 0 3 75 10th
Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
2006 British Formula Three Räikkönen Robertson Racing 22 5 3 5 9 229 3rd
Masters of Formula 3 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 7th
Formula 3 Australian Grand Prix Bronte Rundle Motorsport 3 2 0 ? 3 N/A 1st
Porsche Carrera Cup Germany EMC Buchbinder ARAXA Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC†
Porsche Supercup Porsche AG 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC†
2007 GP2 Series Arden International 21 1 0 0 3 34 8th
Ferrari Challenge Europe – Trofeo Pirelli Ferrari GB Dealer Team 2 2 2 ? 2 N/A NC†
Macau Grand Prix Räikkönen Robertson Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
2008 GP2 Asia Series iSport International 9 0 0 4 2 23 5th
GP2 Series 20 2 3 0 6 64 2nd
2009 Le Mans Series Team Oreca Matmut – AIM 3 0 0 0 2 12 8th
24 Hours of Le Mans 1 0 0 0 0 N/A NC

Hell of a lot more driving than Raikonnen had done before he got to F1 or many of othe other such as Alguesari, Ricciardo, Vettel etc

[drakart]

He started racing in 2004, came second in GP2 at the end of his fourth season, then drove an utter dog of an HRT (which was about the same speed as a GP2 car). He has taken big jumps out of the single seater ladder showing he is absolutely capable of driving at the highest level, getting to grips with difficult machinery quickly.

Judging him against Kimi is pointless. What happened to Kimi will probably never happen again.

Given half a season in a good car we would see him do well. He has picked up driving a Formula 1 car quicker than the majority of the newer drivers.

[rubystone]

Isn't it Total sponsorship that Grosjean brings? Strange decision though - perhaps Raikkonen may have had some influence? Yes, I know Boullier's Gravity manages Grosjean, but surely that wasn't enough to swing the deal.

I agree that Sutil is the one who deserves the seat at Williams - he's still a fast driver. I think they'll take him now.

The curve ball may be BCE's wish to have a Russian in F1 for 2014 though....

[Fire99]

drakart said:

He started racing in 2004, came second in GP2 at the end of his fourth season, then drove an utter dog of an HRT (which was about the same speed as a GP2 car). He has taken big jumps out of the single seater ladder showing he is absolutely capable of driving at the highest level, getting to grips with difficult machinery quickly.

Judging him against Kimi is pointless. What happened to Kimi will probably never happen again.

Given half a season in a good car we would see him do well. He has picked up driving a Formula 1 car quicker than the majority of the newer drivers.

I'll go with that. I still stand by that Senna has more to give and we've not seen his full potential. I hope we get an opportunity for that to happen.

[Ultuous]

Me too... thought his pace was really good this season given the lack of testing and tyres etc. to get to also get grips with - he kept making some (probably) rookie mistakes in the races which are of a concern, but as always it's easier to iron those out with a little more experience than gain raw speed!

[norman156]

Fire99 said:

drakart said:

He started racing in 2004, came second in GP2 at the end of his fourth season, then drove an utter dog of an HRT (which was about the same speed as a GP2 car). He has taken big jumps out of the single seater ladder showing he is absolutely capable of driving at the highest level, getting to grips with difficult machinery quickly.

Judging him against Kimi is pointless. What happened to Kimi will probably never happen again.

Given half a season in a good car we would see him do well. He has picked up driving a Formula 1 car quicker than the majority of the newer drivers.

I'll go with that. I still stand by that Senna has more to give and we've not seen his full potential. I hope we get an opportunity for that to happen.

It's always impressed me what he's managed to do without the 10+ years of karting experience most other drivers seem to have before they move to junior formulae. I agree he's got a lot more to give in F1, but I fear we won't be seeing him next year.

[Redlake27]

Most of the above posts seem to be of the theme: 'Senna did well, despite....."

Well, he's had his opportunity in a top team and, at best, proved he could grow into the next Nick Heidfeld. Grosjean has more long term potential, and it means Renault have two highly credible drivers for the first time in a while.

I hope Petrov goes to Marussia, Sutil to Williams and Senna to World Endurance. It would leave Glock out in the cold, but I'd rather he be a third driver/supersub than have to waste his talent for a third successive year.

[woof]

Bruno Senna at Williams? I can't see his family agreeing to it.