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Post by Anna on Sept 19, 2011 15:00:55 GMT
Singapore a real test, says Senna
19 September 2011 Bruno Senna is aware of the challenge this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix will present, with a particularly long race distance and humid conditions just two of the confrontations added to the fact that the race is staged until lights from 8pm.
“Singapore will be a real test,” says the Renault driver, who scored for the first time in Italy. “It’s a fairly recent addition to the calendar in F1 terms and it will be quite a novelty for me. It will be quite demanding to extract everything I can from the car, but I am enthusiastic about what awaits and hope I can reward the team with more points.
“I will approach the weekend in a similar vein to Monza by completing as many laps as possible in the practice sessions, which will hopefully help me reach Q3 in qualifying.
“As with the Malaysian Grand Prix, Singapore requires you to arrive at the track a little earlier to help acclimatise. Having said that, the team will also remain on their British Summer Time body clocks because of the weekend’s timetable! I’m looking forward to a fun and different type of race weekend.”
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Post by Anna on Sept 19, 2011 17:33:42 GMT
Bruno Senna on the Singapore GP - “We should be household names in Q3 every Saturday afternoon” READ MORE
2011 Singapore Grand Prix Preview 19/09/2011 2011 Singapore Grand Prix Preview James Allison on the Singapore GP - ”If we have a good race, we will have shown improved performance on three very different tracks” 16/09/2011 James Allison on the Singapore GP -... Eric Boullier on the Singapore GP: “This Grand Prix is right to consider itself one of Formula 1’s ‘untouchables” 16/09/2011 Eric Boullier on the Singapore GP:...
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Bruno Senna on the Singapore GP - “We should be household names in Q3 every Saturday afternoon” You’ve been making a lot of history lately; your first race for LRGP, your first F1 points – what’s next? BS: It’s hard to say. We are progressing nicely, and I’m gradually becoming more comfortable with the car and with the team. There are a number of areas I still need to progress; I need to improve my technical knowledge of the R31 and there are some areas of my driving to brush up on – I’m certainly not 100% there yet. I’m sweeping up every piece of information I can each weekend and I hope that, as a team, we can continue scoring points and secure top 10 qualifying positions in the meantime - we should be household names in Q3 every Saturday afternoon. Hopefully by the time I’m fully-acquainted with the car, I’ll be securing more points for the team.
Has the reality now sunk in that you are an LRGP race driver? BS: Yes, it has well and truly sunk in. I had a great time in Monza because I already had one race under my belt. I have had various outings in the R31 this year, but I haven’t had the race weekend experience that the other drivers on the grid have had ; they were fully up to speed with their cars and aware of what they could achieve by the time I arrived. Everything is, of course, a little new from my point of view. Before Monza, I’d only had one experience of qualifying, which was very tough. The race was a great learning curve; it was enjoyable and I think it was a very encouraging result considering how much trouble I was in at the first corner. The evidence is there for all to see that the car performed well and the team adopted a good strategy – two very encouraging signs indeed.
What has been the most trying aspect of your new role? BS: It has been quite tricky getting used to the tyres. Everyone started this season talking about tyres, tyres and tyres but, as with most things, the more practise you can get the easier it becomes. Getting the most out of the Pirelli tyres is not easy ; it’s a big learning curve, but it’s apparent there is plenty of potential to come (from them), so I hope to piece it all together in the next few races.
The Singapore GP– this being a night race, how will your approach change? BS: Singapore will be a real test. It’s a fairly recent addition to the calendar in F1 terms, and it will be quite a novelty for me. It will be quite demanding to extract everything I can from the car, but I am enthusiastic about what awaits, and I hope I can reward the team with some more points. I will approach the weekend in a similar vain to Monza by completing as many laps as possible in the practice sessions, which will hopefully help me reach Q3 in qualifying. Singapore is a trying track; there are so many corners and you have to be on the ball to avoid making mistakes; it really does bring out the best in a driver. Knowing how to set-up the car is not easy either. Physically, it’s also difficult because it is very humid and the track requires you to be precise corner after corner. Driving at night, you notice the combination of light and shadow which takes some getting used to. As with the Malaysian GP, Singapore requires you to arrive at the track a little earlier to help acclimatise. Having said that, the team will also remain on their British Summer Time body clocks because of the weekend’s timetable! I’m looking forward to a fun and different type of race weekend.
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Lucius
Rookie
[ss:Black & White]
Posts: 83
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Post by Lucius on Sept 27, 2011 16:11:49 GMT
Renault boss Boullier backs Senna to deliver more from Japan By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, September 27th 2011, 12:48 GMT
Bruno Senna will start showing exactly what he is capable of as a Formula 1 driver over the remaining races of the season, despite having already impressed the Renault team, according to Eric Boullier.
The Brazilian was drafted in as replacement for Nick Heidfeld from the Belgian GP and, having outqualified his team-mate Vitaly Petrov twice and scored his maiden points in Monza, Boullier is eyeing even better things.
"His learning curve is good and every race he is gaining something," Boullier told AUTOSPORT about Senna's progress. "I am actually planning to be fair with you, we know in Spa that it was very difficult with the weather, Monza is a very specific track and Singapore as well is very specific - plus we don't have the best car to do well.
"From Japan he will start to put the puzzle together and from Japan he should start delivering more."
Boullier has said he is not concerned that Petrov has not stamped his authority over Senna, and reckons that the biggest issue for the Russian is in dealing with the way his team-mate has integrated himself in the team rather than anything he can do on track.
"I think Vitaly is doing well, but he is maybe more concerned by the fact that Bruno is fitting in very well with the team and basically taking some more attention, rather than the speed," he said. "On track there is plenty of room for them to match each other."
Senna's strong performances will boost his chances of remaining at the team next year if Robert Kubica is not fit enough, but Boullier insists he will make no decision about what to do until the knows the status of his injured star driver.
"I made the commitment to wait after Robert's statement so we will see later," said Boullier, who wants an answer on Kubica's fitness by the end of next month.
"I have to force myself to put a deadline. If you keep delaying and delaying and delaying then you put the interests of this team in danger. So I have to stick to one deadline. I have to stick around this date to at least understand if there is a chance for Robert to be back."
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Post by Anna on Oct 15, 2011 19:55:31 GMT
Senna : It didn’t go quite to plan
"It’s a bit frustrating not to get into the top ten"
Saturday 15 October 2011 - 14h45, by Olivier Ferret Bruno, P15 wasn’t what you wanted from qualifying today?
It’s been a bit of a tough weekend so far and today didn’t go quite to plan. It’s my first below par qualifying performance of the year and I hope it’s the last! These things happen – sometimes you just don’t get everything you need out of the car at the vital time. Vitaly did a great job so we’ve seen that the car is consistent and has great potential for the race.
So what went wrong?
The car was fine, I probably didn’t have sufficient mileage to have the confidence to push fully when it mattered on my qualifying run. I’m just off Vitaly’s time in a few corners and that’s all it takes to make the difference between Q2 and Q3. Tomorrow should be a better day.
How does it feel to miss out on a top ten position?
It’s a bit frustrating not to get into the top ten, but as I said that’s my first bad qualifying result of the year so I just have to look to the race tomorrow and try to do the best job I possible.
What do you think is possible from the race tomorrow?
I believe we have a good race car; my high fuel run earlier today was not bad. It could be an interesting race for us, especially with the tyre degradation so I hope that we make good strategy calls with the tyres.
There has been a lot of talk about tyre degradation – what could happen in the race?
There’s big circuit evolution so we’ll have to see how the track changes tomorrow but I think that the front tyres in particular are suffering and there has also been blistering on the rears so it will be interesting to see who manages this the best.
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Pete
F1 Fanatic
Petonyo
Posts: 215
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Post by Pete on Oct 24, 2011 11:54:13 GMT
Senna: Still no reason not to score consistently 24 October 2011
Bruno Senna remains fully confident that he is able to pick up top ten results and thus score points at this season’s final three races in India, Abu Dhabi at Brazil. Last time out in Korea, the Renault driver’s trying afternoon ended in 13th position.
“Some of my best races were in Abu Dhabi and Brazil last year, so there’s no reason why I shouldn’t enjoy similar fortunes this time around - especially because I am in a competitive car that can score points,” says Senna, who in 2010 drove for HRT.
“The aim is to keep learning, keep improving and to arrive in India with a much clearer head after the frustration of my weekend in Korea. I loved the experience of being in the points at Monza and that’s something I want to repeat. I have three races left to do that.”
After qualifying in impressive seventh and tenth places on his Formula 1 return, in Belgium and Italy respectively, Senna scored two points by finishing ninth at Monza.
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Post by Anna on Oct 28, 2011 17:24:47 GMT
Bruno Senna: I need to be less tough on myself By Jonathan Noble Friday, October 28th 2011, 07:06 GMT
Bruno Senna reckons he needs to be less tough on himself if he is to deliver the performances that will secure him a race seat for 2012.
After an impressive start to his spell at Renault, Senna has had a tougher time in the last few events - and had a particularly difficult weekend in Korea a fortnight ago.
But after kicking himself for what happened in Korea, Senna reckons that he needs to be more realistic about what he can do and the pressures he puts on himself.
"There is always more pressure the further you go into the season to have results, because in theory you should always be getting better and better and better," said Senna.
"But I need to be quite careful with that - even I had forgotten that last weekend was only my fifth race, and I am competing against guys who have done 17 races in the same space of time. So if I don't give myself a break sometimes when I have difficulties, and there will be difficulties all the time, then I might struggle with my head.
"The pressure is there. I want to go better and better every race, but sometimes like last weekend we had a difficult situation and it put me in a bad position, but there is no point dwelling too much on it. We try to learn from the mistakes.
"I want to do well for these last few races. It is going to be important for sure, but I have to make sure that I keep my mind in the right place considering I am not there with the other guys yet."
Senna says that he sat down with the team after Korea to work out what had gone wrong there – and thinks he has understood where mistakes were made.
"We hope we have a good solution," said Senna. "We have been looking at our previous races and I think we have understood what we have done wrong in the last race especially, and hopefully we will be back on good performance this weekend.
"It was because I had such short mileage and didn't have much reference from before, good reference from before, I went in the wrong route with the engineers.
"Plus every change we made was always made with a tyre change as well, so it was always going to feel better. So I think looking back if I did a few more miles I would have gone back on some changes and the car would have been more competitive for the race."
When asked about his feelings about 2012, Senna said: "Unfortunately if you don't have a contract signed there is no guarantee of having a place anywhere, but I think I have done a good few favours myself in terms of performance, qualifying performance lately, and it puts everything in a better position for the confidence the other people can give me.
"I would love to stay here. I like the guys here a lot. If I can stay here and get the right package and Robert [Kubica] cannot come back then hopefully I will be happy to."
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Post by Anna on Oct 28, 2011 17:25:29 GMT
Bruno Senna amazed by stray dog issue in Indian Grand Prix practice By Edd Straw Friday, October 28th 2011, 13:48 GMT
Bruno Senna admits that he found it hard to believe that a dog was able to get onto the track during Friday morning's first free practice session at the new Buddh International circuit.
The Renault driver retired from the GP2 sprint race at Istanbul Park in 2008 after hitting a stray dog and damaging the front suspension. Senna promised to raise today's problem during the drivers' briefing.
"When I arrived at the track I saw that exact dog walking around the entrance of the paddock," said Senna when asked by AUTOSPORT about the problem. "It shows that no one really paid attention to it and the fact that it got into the track is difficult to believe.
"In the drivers' briefing I will be sure to raise the point."
Senna added that he was happy that the severity of the situation was taken seriously as the session was stopped as soon as the dog was spotted.
"It's clear that it's taken very seriously since my incident in GP2 in 2008 as they red-flagged the session," said Senna. "Let's hope that they pay more attention to uninvited animals on the track."
AUTOSPORT understands that the FIA has ensured that action has been taken to ensure that animals are not able to get onto the track again this weekend.
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Post by Anna on Nov 24, 2011 13:48:58 GMT
Senna still unsure as Kubica continues recovery
"I am working to convince the team that I should stay"
Thursday 24 November 2011 - 09h27, by GMM With Robert Kubica now out of the picture for early 2012, Bruno Senna insists the driver situation at Renault remains far from clear.
"For me, the announcement (about Kubica on Wednesday) does not change anything," Senna, the current occupant of the seat originally reserved for the injured Pole this season, said in his native Portuguese in Sao Paulo.
"I am working to convince the team that I should stay but the competition is great," he conceded.
Senna, 28, admitted that due to the "great" competition, "it is important" to be backed by ample sponsorship.
Even Vitaly Petrov, with a signed 2012 contract in his pocket, has hinted that Renault could pick a better-funded driver to replace him.
"It’s hard to comment, I haven’t read Petrov’s contract," Senna insisted. "I have no information.
"I’m not worried about the seat next to me. (Romain) Grosjean is the third driver but everyone who is also on the market is an enemy — Rubens (Barrichello) has a huge amount of experience," he added, also mentioning the name of likely Force India refugee Adrian Sutil.
"We will have to see what the team decides. We have had encouraging conversations with sponsors and with the team," said Senna.
"The team is happy with me but they want more consistency. I have had ups and downs and I need my first whole season since 2008 (in GP2) to improve more."
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Post by Anna on Nov 24, 2011 13:49:16 GMT
Renault Brazil welcomes Bruno Senna
"The warm welcome I got here was amazing"
Wednesday 23 November 2011 - 12h41, by Olivier Ferret Bruno Senna was the guest of honour at the Renault plant in Curitiba, Brazil, today. Poignantly, the complex is named in honour of Brazil’s greatest-ever F1 world champion, and Bruno’s uncle, Ayrton Senna.
The young Brazilian, who competes this weekend in his home Grand Prix for the Lotus Renault GP team, visited the facility in the Brazilian city, where models are produced for the Brazilian market across three plants: the passenger car plant (bodywork and assembly), the engine plant, Mecanica Mercosul, and the light commercial vehicle (LCV) plant, operated with Nissan.
More than one million passenger cars and light utility vehicles have rolled off the production lines of the Ayrton Senna complex and in 2010 Renault’s Brazilian subsidiary achieved its best results yet. Bruno got the opportunity to see this production for himself, plus talk to some of the six thousand of employees that work in the plant.
Speaking at the event, Bruno said: "This is only my second visit to a production facility, and it’s certainly impressive. I’m sure my uncle would have been proud to see so many people working here. The warm welcome I got here as well was amazing - so many people turned out to say hello, which is so positive going into my home race. I would love to get a good result on Sunday in front of my home crowd, and this visit has put me in exactly the right frame of mind."
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Post by Psycho Seal on Dec 9, 2011 13:56:06 GMT
Oh Admin, time to move this to the archive... Is it wrong that this makes me laugh??
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Post by Anna on Dec 9, 2011 16:11:45 GMT
Lol probably not it makes me giggle a little bit . I'll see if I can move it from my phone .
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Post by Anna on Dec 19, 2011 12:49:22 GMT
Senna eyes Nascar option - report
"My family would not let me race in Indycar"
Monday 19 December 2011 - 12h20, by GMM Bruno Senna is considering Nascar as a back-up option should his F1 journey end for now.
That is the claim of the Italiaracing website, in the wake of the Brazilian’s loss of his Renault/Lotus race seat.
It is rumoured Senna, 28, could return to the team’s reserve role for 2012, but Italiaracing said Nascar is another option, where his countryman Nelson Piquet Jr headed after his own F1 career foundered in 2009.
The report said Senna has ruled out America’s premier single seater series, Indycar.
"My family would not let me (race there)," he is quoted as saying.
Senna’s fabled uncle Ayrton was F1’s last fatality in 1994, when Bruno was 10.
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Post by Anna on Jan 2, 2012 23:09:16 GMT
2011 end of term report – Bruno Senna
2 points, 18th in the drivers’ championship
Wednesday 21 December 2011 - 15h10, by Sandrine Bouchard Bruno Senna made an unexpected come-back in this year’s F1 World Championship in the second part of the season.
He was asked by the LRGP team to replace Nick Heidfeld from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards. He was given eight occasions to show his potential but, despite two points scored, he was not retained by the team for 2012.
Season review
Bruno Senna was released by HRT at the start of the year. A few days later, he attended LRGP new car launch and was unveiled as one of the team’s reserve driver.
After the German Grand Prix, LRGP announced the Brazilian would drive in Friday practice in Hungary. Nick Heidfeld was released in late August and Senna stepped in for him. He made his debut at Spa-Francorchamps but crashed in the first practice session. However, he bounced back in style from this mistake and qualified 7th. Unfortunately, his lack of experience cost him dearly at the start of the race. He was a bit too fast into Turn One and collided with Jaime Alguersuari. The Toro Rosso driver was forced to retire and Senna subsequently received a drive-through penalty. He finished the race in 13th position.
He qualified 10th at Monza and had, once again, problems at the start. This time, though, he was the innocent victim of an accident caused by Tonio Liuzzi. Relegated at the back of the field, Senna fought hard to move up to 9th place and score two points.
At Singapore – on a track which didn’t suit his R31 characteristics – the Brazilian qualified 15th and finished in the same position. In Japan, he qualified in the top ten but had a bad start and crossed the finish line in 16th place.
Feeling more pressure as the end of the season approached, Senna made some mistakes and failed to score points.
Conclusion
Bruno Senna had a lot to prove in the second half of the season. However, his task was hard with a car not really competitive and difficult to drive. He matched Vitaly Petrov in qualifying but struggled against the Russian in the races.
He was hopeful of being retained by the team for 2012 but received the bad news on December 9th. LRGP opted to sign Romain Grosjean to partner him with former World Champion Kimi Raikkonen.
Highs 7th on the starting grid at Spa Scored 2 points in Italy Matched Petrov in qualifying
Lows Collision at the start of the Belgian GP Several tough races Failed to impress
Nextgen-Auto.com marks: Olivier Ferret : 11/20 D.Thys : 13/20 Sandrine Bouchard : 11/20 Jean-Michel Setbon : 10/20 Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 9/20 Total : 54/100
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