"If you think I'm good, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno," said Ayrton Senna late in 1993 about his young apprentice. However, not long after these words of praise, Ayrton had passed on, bringing young Bruno's career to an abrupt halt for a time.
In 2005 the talent that one of, if not the, greatest driver had spoken about was on show when Bruno resurfaced and raced in British Formula BMW and Formula Renault.
No sooner had he joined than he had moved onto the British Formula Three International Series racing for Räikkönen Robertson Racing, archieving numerous podium finishes in seven races.
It was around this time that the Senna name was back in the rumour mill and the media focused attention on shy Bruno, making the inevitable comparisons to his uncle.
In 2006, he entered the British F3 championship and won the first two events, only to fade away and finish a respectable third place overall.
But this didn't dampen his spirits as he exclaimed to the motor racing world that he is "targeting a seat on the Formula One grid by 2009." But for the meantime, the Formula One feeder series, GP2, became Senna's hunting ground and a place to hone his skills.
He signed to drive for the Red Bull-sponsored Arden International team. Although Senna didn't win the championship with Arden, it was still a positive step on the whole for him, with a top-10 finish in only his third full year of single-seater racing, with one win and three podiums.
To help boost and realize his dream, he moved to iSport International, with constant comparisons to Ayrton still around.
This placed added pressure on Bruno—however, every cloud has a silver lining.
Toro Rosso team chief Gerhard Berger is a close friend of the Senna family and has advised young Bruno on his career. He was recently linked with a drive for Toro Rosso to replace young superstar Sebastian Vettel. This would allow him to achieve his target and dream of reaching the pinnacle of racing by 2009.
However, the Senna name isn't the only name to be recycled back into F1. Younger generations certainly aren't a new thing to the Formula One World Championship. This started as early as 1950, when Alberto Ascari followed in his father Antonio's footsteps to great success
Two of the most famous sons of famous fathers raced for the same team in 1996 when Jaques Villeneuve and Damon Hill joined up at Williams. That year Hill became the first ever world champion son to accompany a world champion father.
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3 months ago
It is tough to follow in the shadow of the great Aryton whose guts on the track are legendary and whose grace in helping people who were in trouble even midst race are not talked about too much... I wish Bruno Senna all the best. Regarding the other sons who are trying to emulate their fathers - I only wish that we don't look at them as Junior to their fathers. They deserve a break from comparisons. Great read. POTD and 5 stars
3 months ago
Very good article, and a question often on the mind of Formula 1 fans with a knowledge of the past. As Saraswathi said, all the best to Bruno but I don't think He's going to live up to what Ayrton said he would be.
4* Thanks
3 months ago
Nice article, great idea! Sadly Bruno is not the stuff champions are made of, still it is not a father son deal, so people will less apt to make the comparison. As for the others, one could make the argument that the sons emulated their father. Nice, POTD!
3 months ago
How would you know Bruno isnt the stuff champions are made of ? Are You a race driver to make that kind of judgement ? I think we will only find out his calibre once he enters a Formula 1 car , but then again you hated Ayrton so maybe your judgement is clouded .....again
Now thats what i call an unsubstanciated claim ,
Bruno Senna is every bit as good as any of the GP2 startlets ive seen , even Hamilton rates him highly , and lets face it , as much as you hate it , Hamilton right now at this moment is the most consistent man in Formula 1 and this season by a massive margin is the best , he hasnt had one retirement since he started his career , there is no denying that he is the best driver in the field at this moment in time .
from 3 months ago
Thanks for all the plaudits.
As for Bruno, I think he can make it as an F1 driver. He's competitive in GP2 leading races, much like Glock and those before him and maybe his connections with those in the F1 world he could claim a drive and show what he can do.
from 3 months ago
Mark I am denying that hamilton is the best at the moment, he would be lucky to make the top 5. He is in a great car, that is very quick and super reliable. Head to head in the same car with the same treatment, he would be a lap dog to Vettel, Sutil, Rosberg, Massa, Kimim Kubica and a few others.
As for Bruno, why not take the time to see what racing great Gerhard Berger has to say about him.
As for GP2 that means nothing, heck when Giorgio Pantano is leading the series, what does it say about the rest of the drivers. Bruno will get a drive at a second rate team like Williams who still feel guilty about what happened to Senna. The guy is nothing special, there are a multitude of drivers equal to or better than him.
3 months ago
I do not agree that Hamilton would be lap dog to any of them , it would be a titanic battle but i think he can beat all of them in the same package .
he doesnt have a car thats any better than kimi or felipes , in fact felipes car was like a rocket on sunday , so i believe hamilton is the best in the field as he is beating two sublimly fast ferraris in the championship .i wish you would stop crying about the mclaren bein faster , its not the bloody case .
and are you mad ? gp2 shows off potential , all in the same power / speed cars , hamilton in turkey gp2 perfect example ,
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