F1 preview: Bruno Senna interview

Two of the most famous names in Formula One history will be reunited this weekend when Bruno Senna makes his grand prix debut for the Williams team at Sunday’s season opener in Melbourne, Australia.

It was 18 years ago that Bruno’s uncle, Ayrton Senna, moved to Williams after winning three world championship titles with McLaren. But just three races later, tragedy struck when the Brazilian legend was killed after crashing in the opening laps of the San Marino Grand Prix.

“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 him,” admitted Bruno, whose mother Viviane was Ayrton’s older sister. “Hopefully we can bring back some memories and create some great new ones, too.”

Of course, much has changed in the intervening years. While there are historical similarities, we shouldn’t get too carried away about this new collaboration.

Williams was bruised by its worst-ever F1 season in 2011, and is now a pale shadow of the all-conquering outfit Ayrton joined back in 1994. What’s more, Bruno is following in those famous footsteps without a raft of stellar results under his belt.

In a troubled 2010 campaign for the struggling HRT team, and the final eight races of last season as a stand-in at Lotus Renault, Senna scored only a few championship points.

As a result, critics say he’s only in F1 because of his family name. This undeniably helped greatly when it came to attracting funds. No exact financial details have been released, but Senna is said to be bringing around £10million of Brazilian sponsorship to the underperforming, cash-strapped team. Williams is searching for a new title backer after the loss of telecommunications giant AT&T.

“I want to get some good results in return for the support my country has given me to get into this position,” said the ever-cheerful Bruno, who admits he has a responsibility not to tarnish the idolised Senna brand.

“The name carries a very important legacy. That’s why the pressure is on me not to damage that image – and why this is by far the most important year of my life.”

Despite poor grand prix results to date, Bruno is more than just a well funded makeweight with a famous bloodline. For starters, the 28-year-old is still playing catch-up, having bowed to family pressure to put his F1 dreams on hold for a decade following Ayrton’s death. Also, he showed flashes of the old Senna magic when finishing runner-up in the 2008 GP2 Series and, more recently, when qualifying seventh for last year’s Belgian Grand Prix at the daunting Spa circuit.

Whether he’s backed by megabucks or not, most believe that Bruno deserves a proper chance to show if he really is a chip off the great man’s block. Ayrton himself certainly thought Bruno had potential. “If you think I’m good, wait until you see my nephew,” he once said. Bruno cut his teeth racing karts on the family farm months before his fledgling racing career came to an abrupt halt in 1994.

After the fateful events at Imola, his family asked him to stop, and it was not until 2004 that he reignited his passion.

“For years, motor racing was a forbidden subject at home,” recalled Bruno, whose own father was killed in a motorbike crash two years after Ayrton’s death. Indeed, Ayrton’s father – Bruno’s grandfather – has only started to come to terms with the situation.

“He was very upset when I told him I was going racing,” revealed the Williams newcomer. “But this is my life and I need to do what I want to do. F1 has always been my dream and just reaching this level is a massive victory for me.”

If Bruno wants to rekindle the Senna spirit, he will need a competitive car. There are some encouraging green shoots at Williams – a team that hasn’t won a drivers’ championship since Jacques Villeneuve took the crown in 1997.

This year, it has upgraded from Cosworth to title-winning Renault engines as used by Red Bull. Plus, Senna believes a reorganised technical team working under ex-McLaren man Mike Coughlan will make a significant difference.

“Everyone is motivated to get the car as competitive as possible in 2012 and testing has gone well,” Bruno explained. “It’s true Williams didn’t have the best season last year, but it’s clearly on a new path now, and everyone is pulling together to ensure we achieve much more this year.

“In testing, the car seemed to be kind on its tyres and it’s much easier to drive on the limit than the one I was driving last year. As ever, I’d like to have some more time to prepare, but I think we’re doing okay.”

Seeing whether or not Senna – together with his Venezuelan team-mate, Pastor Maldonado – can revive Williams’ flagging fortunes will be another of the many intriguing sub-plots in what promises to be the best Formula One season in years.

2012 Formula One calendar

18 March: Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne
25 March: Malaysian Grand Prix, Kuala Lumpur
15 April: Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai
22 April: Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir
13 May: Spanish Grand Prix, Catalunya
27 May: Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo
10 June: Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal
24 June: European Grand Prix, Valencia
8 July: British Grand Prix, Silverstone
22 July: German Grand Prix, Hockenheim
29 July: Hungarian Grand Prix, Budapest
2 September: Belgian Grand Prix, Spa
9 September: Italian Grand Prix, Monza
23 September: Singapore Grand Prix, Singapore
7 October: Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka
14 October: Korean Grand Prix, Yeongam
28 October: Indian Grand Prix, New Delhi
4 November: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina
18 November: United States Grand Prix, Austin
25 November: Brazilian Grand Prix, Sao Paulo