Q&A with Bruno Senna

On Friday, Bruno Senna will make his first race weekend appearance for LRGP when he takes to the wheel during Free Practice 1. We find out how the Brazilian took the news when he heard he would be offered the chance to get into the R31.

You’ve been with Lotus Renault GP almost six months now – have you settled in well?

Well, it’s been a very good experience. This is the first big F1 team I’ve been involved with; I’ve been learning a lot technically from the drivers, engineers and the team. Every part of being inside a big F1 team has been a real learning curve for me. It feels like it’s been longer than six months because of the steep learning process, but I feel a real part of the team now. I hope I stay with LRGP a long time, and I hope I can give more to the team too.

You are going to drive for the team in FP1 at the Hungaroring – what was your reaction when you heard the news?

I was very, very happy. It’s not often you get an opportunity in such a big team like this and, of course, with the opportunity comes great pressure and a high demand because this is a team that is doing lots of work on a strong car this year. I feel like I’ve been inside the team long enough and I’ve participated on a lot of the technical side of things so the conditions are perfect for me to jump into the car and help the team with its development work. I’m confident of getting up to speed quickly so I can have a good session on Friday. Hopefully, I can work effectively with the guys to ensure we get a good set-up during the session, which Nick can then use when he takes over again in FP2.

How do you think it will feel to see your name up on the monitor?

Well, I hope it’s right up there with Vitaly, it would be great to have a good pace and rhythm alongside him because he sets a good benchmark. It will be good out there driving a black and gold Lotus Renault at the Hungaroring, so it will be a good feeling for me.

You’ve tested for the team this year away from the race track, but this will be a different experience…

For sure, now it’s a proper public test and everyone will be watching. It’s not going to be easy getting into the car, when other drivers have been out there for half a season doing it, but I think all the testing I’ve done will stand me in good stead and it will help dust any cobwebs off!

The Hungaroring is a challenging circuit – what’s your experience of it?

I’ve driven there three times before; I drove there in GP2 twice (2007 and 2008). 2008 was a particularly good year there as I finished both races on the podium so that was quite satisfying. I also drove there with HRT last year in quite an undeveloped car, which was difficult, but with the R31 I’m sure we can do good things. I actually went there recently and drove in a Lotus Evora GT4 which was a lot of fun, so I’ve had some good recent experiences at the track and hopefully that can continue this weekend.

Source Lotus Renault GP