Bruno Senna, a Brazilian former Formula One and endurance racing driver, is known as much for his lineage as for his own racing achievements. The nephew of three-time F1 World Champion Ayrton Senna, Bruno carried the iconic Senna name back onto the Formula One grid from 2010 to 2012. While his Formula One stint was brief and often turbulent, Bruno forged a respectable career in motorsport, including a class win in the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship.
| Nationality | Brazilian |
|---|---|
| Born | Bruno Senna Lalli 15 October 1983 São Paulo, Brazil |
Bruno Senna’s route to Formula One was anything but conventional. He made his F1 testing debut in 2008 with Honda and impressed by coming within three-tenths of regular driver Jenson Button during a three-day test in Barcelona. However, Honda’s sudden withdrawal from F1 due to the global financial crisis disrupted his immediate entry into the sport.
Despite being a strong contender for a race seat at the newly-formed Brawn GP, Rubens Barrichello was retained instead, largely due to his experience in a season with limited testing. Senna turned down a DTM offer from Mercedes to keep his Formula One hopes alive, and in late 2009, finally secured a race seat with Campos Meta (later rebranded as Hispania Racing).
HRT: 2010
Senna debuted with the new Hispania Racing Team (HRT) in 2010. The team faced major financial and logistical challenges, and their car was untested before the first race of the season. Senna struggled with poor reliability and performance. After nine races, he was briefly replaced by Sakon Yamamoto for the 2010 British Grand Prix, before returning for the German round. Despite his best efforts, the season yielded little in terms of results, and HRT released him at the start of 2011.
Renault: 2011
In 2011, Senna joined Renault as a reserve and test driver. Following Nick Heidfeld’s underwhelming performances, Senna was promoted to a race seat from the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix onward. He qualified an impressive 7th in Belgium but finished 13th after a first-lap collision.
At Monza, he scored his first F1 points with a ninth-place finish. Though his results fluctuated, he consistently showed improved pace, often matching or outqualifying teammate Vitaly Petrov. Senna finished the season with a ninth-place grid slot at his home Grand Prix in Brazil but ended the race in 17th after a penalty for a collision with Michael Schumacher. Renault opted to sign Romain Grosjean for 2012, leaving Senna once again without a seat.
Williams: 2012
Senna signed with Williams for the 2012 season, partnering Pastor Maldonado. It was a deeply symbolic move—his uncle Ayrton had been racing for Williams at the time of his fatal crash in 1994. Out of respect, Bruno sought his family’s blessing before joining the team.
His season started promisingly. He scored a strong sixth-place finish in Malaysia—more points than Williams had earned in the entire previous year. He added further points in China, Monaco, Great Britain, and Belgium, where he set the fastest lap of his F1 career. Despite these flashes of performance, his season was marred by retirements and mid-pack finishes.
Maldonado’s victory at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix cast a shadow over Senna’s season, and the team ultimately opted to replace him with rookie Valtteri Bottas for 2013. Senna ended the season 16th in the 2012 Drivers’ Championship with 31 points.
Following his exit from F1, Senna shifted his focus to endurance and electric racing. He raced in Formula E with Mahindra from 2014 to 2016 and found greater success in endurance racing. His highlight came in 2017 when he won the FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMP2 category with Rebellion Racing.
Bruno Senna faced immense pressure from the moment he entered the sport, bearing a name synonymous with Formula One greatness. While comparisons to his uncle were inevitable, Bruno created a respectable career on his own merit.
Bruno Senna Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 2010–2012 |
|---|---|
| Teams | HRT, Renault, Williams |
| Entries | 46 (46 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 33 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| First entry | 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix |
Bruno Senna Teammates
| 8 drivers | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karun Chandok | 9 | 2010 | |
| Christian Klien | 5 | 2010 | |
| Sakon Yamamoto | 8 | 2010 | |
| Nick Heidfeld | 1 | 2011 | |
| Vitaly Petrov | 9 | 2011 | |
| Romain Grosjean | 2 | 2011 | |
| Pastor Maldonado | 20 | 2012 | |
| Valtteri Bottas | 15 | 2012 |
Bruno Senna Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Hispania Racing F1 Team | Hispania F110 | Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8 | BHR Ret | AUS Ret | MAL 16 | CHN 16 | ESP Ret | MON Ret | TUR Ret | CAN Ret | EUR 20 | GBR | GER 19 | HUN 17 | BEL Ret | ITA Ret | SIN Ret | JPN 15 | KOR 14 | BRA 21 | ABU 19 | 23rd | 0 | |
| 2011 | Lotus Renault GP | Renault R31 | Renault RS27 2.4 V8 | AUS | MAL | CHN | TUR | ESP | MON | CAN | EUR | GBR | GER | HUN TD | BEL 13 | ITA 9 | SIN 15 | JPN 16 | KOR 13 | IND 12 | ABU 16 | BRA 17 | 18th | 2 | |
| 2012 | Williams F1 Team | Williams FW34 | Renault RS27-2012 V8 | AUS 16 † | MAL 6 | CHN 7 | BHR 22 † | ESP Ret | MON 10 | CAN 17 | EUR 10 | GBR 9 | GER 17 | HUN 7 | BEL 12 | ITA 10 | SIN 18 † | JPN 14 | KOR 15 | IND 10 | ABU 8 | USA 10 | BRA Ret | 16th | 31 |
