Bruno Senna dropped from HRT

[brainfade]

Following the news that Bruno Senna, nephew of Ayrton has been dropped from HRT, now question remains to be answered, we know that the HRT is an absolutely TERRIBLE car, but is Bruno Senna really worthy of that name or is he indeed what some people on other forums have cruelly described him as; as waste of genes?

 

[Peter]

WAT!!!!????? Dropped from HRT??? Why?? If anything, he's faster than Karun, and he's not even getting payed by the team. What did he do wrong?

We can't say whether he is a waste of genes or not, because he wasn't in a decent car, that could give him any results rather than way at the back. Maybe when he gets in something decent, we can give a good judgement on him.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Two things:
1) Yamamoto obviously brings a lot of money to the team.
2) It may only be for Silverstone.
3) I said two things, but I don't believe in antidisestablishmentarianism. Go look it up.

 

[Dan_]

Wasn't aware of this, but he's faster than Chandok, so they must have taken this decision based only on sponsoring influences.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Wasn't aware of this

It's only just happened. The team aren't actually confirming or denying anything yet, but a full statement is expected later today.

 

[Northstar]

Wow, this moves makes me seriously question how this team is ran. It's not the fact they are dropping Bruno, but more of them doing it this close to a GP weekend.

 

[senamic]

It amuses me that people are saying his faster than Chandhok. From memory, Senna is winning in qualification times, but while both are stuck with an uncompetitive car, if we were giving the new teams (Lotus, Virgin & HRT) their own championship, Chandhok would actually be leading everyone on 109 points, while Senna would be at the back on just 33. Now their car has poor reliability, but seriously, being fast is one thing, but to finish first, first you have to finish. While I feel Senna is worthy of a race seat, I feel that this year Chandhok has proven himself everywhere outside of qualifying. And on qualifying, I could be wrong, Chandhok might be higher up than Senna, I don't remember.

 

[NapoleonMikey]

I feel sorry for Senna really. Not for being kicked from HRT if that is what happened and is more then just a 1 race thing, but because of his name he gets criticized so much.

but is Bruno Senna really worthy of that name

I mean really what is the kid supposed to do change his name? Are only the fastest race car drivers in the world supposed to have that name?

My guess is that if he was dropped then it was for a good reason. He was a pay driver and for a team that needs the money. My guess is that they are at a point where they want a driver with experience in F1 that can help develop the car and Yamamoto has that experience. And as Semanic pointed out, Senna is only faster in qualifying but not in an overall race pace and bringing the car home.

 

[mazdaman]

I feel sorry for Senna really. Not for being kicked from HRT if that is what happened and is more then just a 1 race thing, but because of his name he gets criticized so much.



I mean really what is the kid supposed to do change his name? Are only the fastest race car drivers in the world supposed to have that name?

My guess is that if he was dropped then it was for a good reason. He was a pay driver and for a team that needs the money. My guess is that they are at a point where they want a driver with experience in F1 that can help develop the car and Yamamoto has that experience. And as Semanic pointed out, Senna is only faster in qualifying but not in an overall race pace and bringing the car home.

Ditto, they need to give him a break though.

 

[Peter]

It amuses me that people are saying his faster than Chandhok. From memory, Senna is winning in qualification times, but while both are stuck with an uncompetitive car, if we were giving the new teams (Lotus, Virgin & HRT) their own championship, Chandhok would actually be leading everyone on 109 points, while Senna would be at the back on just 33. Now their car has poor reliability, but seriously, being fast is one thing, but to finish first, first you have to finish. While I feel Senna is worthy of a race seat, I feel that this year Chandhok has proven himself everywhere outside of qualifying. And on qualifying, I could be wrong, Chandhok might be higher up than Senna, I don't remember.

Bruno has sufferend from reliability problems much more than Karun. Bruno has 6 retirements, Karun has 2. Bruno has outqualified Karun more times than Karun has outqualified Bruno.

 

[Northstar]

I feel sorry for Senna really. Not for being kicked from HRT if that is what happened and is more then just a 1 race thing, but because of his name he gets criticized so much.

I mean really what is the kid supposed to do change his name? Are only the fastest race car drivers in the world supposed to have that name?

It's kind of a double edged sword though as there are probably several opportunities he has had because of his name. It does bring with it a fair amount of criticism if he can't "live up to it".

 

[senamic]

Bruno has sufferend from reliability problems much more than Karun. Bruno has 6 retirements, Karun has 2. Bruno has outqualified Karun more times than Karun has outqualified Bruno.

While that may be the case, and I am not taking anything away from Bruno's efforts, part of driving in a backmarker team is about learning to nurse a car, driving it at even as low as 70% of its potential pace to keep it going. To finish first, first you must finish. While it would be foolish to say that Bruno is the cause of all of his retirements, it would be similarly foolish to say that there isn't any way that the driver has an influence on whether a car finishes or not. Senna has come out of GP2 has he not? The GP2 cars are wondderful, and as a spec series are very evenly matche.d If you are fast, it shows. He proved himself to be fast in GP2, but in F1, with its huge disparity in team strength he might need to learn to drive a bit more cautiously, as that might be the difference between two or three retirements and five or six.

 

[Ardius]

Lets also keep in mind Bruno and Karun haven't always had equal machinery - at the start of the season Karun is the one who got the split-fuel tank first.

Its difficult to really determine how good drivers are in such horrible cars. But as the season progresses, the Dallara has been getting visibly better to drive. Compare the onboard laps from early in the season to now, it seems a bit easier to drive.
So, considering that, Senna has been the one going faster this side of the season. But honestly I wouldn't drop Chandhok either, both drivers are reliable and bringing in a new driver part way through the season never helps because they have to get up to speed and used to the car.

Neither Klien or Yamamoto are any better than Senna or Chandhok so there is no reason to swap people about for performance reasons. It has to be about money.

As for the OP's question. Bruno is not Ayrton, he is Bruno. There is no reason to compare him to Ayrton at all.
Waste of genes? Thats not particularly nice wording there.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

+1, Aridus.

Also, last time I checked, a good racing driver does not owe his success to his genes.

 

[niky]

Or the lack of it. Just look at Ralf Schumacher.


(runs and hides )

 

[0zzy]

Absolutely rediculas.

I felt Bruno was doing a fine job, far better than Chandhok. He has out qualified Karun 7-2 (or 6-2), he lapped Karun twice in the same car in the rain at China, qualified 1.5 seconds ahead of Karun in Monaco, has crashed out of a GP only once, whereas Karun has crashed out twice. Senna has destroyed Karun, Karun only beats Bruno because Senna had reliability issues.

Go onto 'F1 Planet' they do a team mate war comparison and compare drivers overall weekend performances, Bruno is 7-2 up on Chandhok.

 

[Ardius]

I would have been equally shocked if Chandhok had been dumped too, just because Senna and Chandhok are the most experienced drivers in the Dallara. It doesn't matter if you get Heidfeld, Schumacher or whoever to replace them, its going to set the team back a bit while the new driver gets settled in and used to the car. It makes no sense to replace drivers who at the very least bring the car home and gather the data mid season when you are a new team struggling for pace.
If they had replaced either driver with say Schumacher, it would be a bit more understandable but Yamamoto is not anywhere near that.

 

[daan]

Absolutely rediculas.

Not as ridiculous as your spelling of ridiculous.

History is full of "better" drivers being sacked to make way for "worse" drivers that have more money. For a small team like HRT a paying driver seems to be a better way than taking a possibly better driver with less money. In saying that, I applaud Lotus for taking on 2 established and quick drivers.

(I am making no comments that Senna is better or worse than Chandock or Yamamoto)

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Motorsport.com/GMM might not be the most reliable source, but this article claims that Senna was not dropped for financial reasons. And given that the team seems to be delaying the statement as to why he is sitting Silverstone out, I think we can rule out some kind of injury or illness.

I do have a theory about this though.

There is and has been talk that Hispania is up for sale. Most of it is idle talk and it's usually been put to bed with the usual denials pretty quickly, but the niggling rumour is still there. Given Kolles' close association with Audi in both Le Mans and DTM in recent years, there was talk that Hispania might be a vessel for getting Volkswagen involved in the team, and that Hispania Racing would simply be a placeholder to reserve the stop for VW when they want in. However, Volkswagen have said they won't be interested until the new engine regulations are released, and that is expected to be happening for 2013. If the team is in danger of being sold - if Hispania does a Jordan/Midland/Spyker/Force India do-se-do - that could create instability within the team itself. There would be very little work getting done, and that would be frustrating for a driver. Maybe Senna walked of his own volition to protect his reputation and maybe pick up a seat for 2011. Lotus, anyone?

 

[daan]

Breaking news on BBC GP feed is that Bruno will be back in the car for the rest of the season.

 

[Ardius]

Maybe Senna walked of his own volition to protect his reputation and maybe pick up a seat for 2011. Lotus, anyone?

Lotus? You have to be mad to suggest he replaces either Trulli or Kovalainen, both race winners and experienced drivers. Lotus' line-up is probably secure at least until Trulli decides he's had enough.

 

[Prince.M5]

Just to give Yamamoto an oppoturnity to drive is their reason but the actual of why last minute change is still running in my mind. Bruno Will be back in Hockenheim and for the rest of the races of the year.

We all do know that HRT is in need of money so bringing Yamamoto in is an opportunity for the team. Their car lacks a lot and they need a rapid improvement. Sometimes I do think this is a good decision too.

 

[Only_in_f1]

Or its just favouritism by Colin Kolles. Yamamoto has followed him everywhere and got a drive.

Also of note, it's Yamamoto's birthday this weekend, maybe this is Colin's present.

 

[Fastas]

Or its just favouritism by Colin Kolles. Yamamoto has followed him everywhere and got a drive.

Also of note, it's Yamamoto's birthday this weekend, maybe this is Colin's present.

Am I the only one who finds that suggestion, if true, to be wholly unacceptable?

Yamamoto was really struggling in the second practice today and was resting his head at every corner. He'll not be fit to race and if he starts I doubt he'll last long, good luck to him though and I hope he has a good birthday.

 

[Ardius]

Well the last person I blame is Yamamoto himself, good luck to him but he's taking up a seat that by all rights should be Senna's this weekend.
Clearly there is something behind this, because its very last minute and there isn't much reason to replace Senna. James Allen suggests it might be "disciplinary" but I think its just boring old money issues.

 

[Only_in_f1]

Am I the only one who finds that suggestion, if true, to be wholly unacceptable?

Yamamoto was really struggling in the second practice today and was resting his head at every corner. He'll not be fit to race and if he starts I doubt he'll last long, good luck to him though and I hope he has a good birthday.

His neck also started to go in FP2.

All i'll say is, when Colin Kolles has been at a team, Yamamoto has been there. Jordan, Spyker, Super Aguri and now Hispania. He must be paying any money to the bank account of Colin Kolles...

 

[Alex.]

My verdict:


HRT are running low on cash and need a quick extra injection of cash for one race. Maybe because Bruno came up short in the dollars department? Yamamoto could've offered to pay extortionate amounts to bail them out on this one occasion.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Lotus? You have to be mad to suggest he replaces either Trulli or Kovalainen, both race winners and experienced drivers. Lotus' line-up is probably secure at least until Trulli decides he's had enough.

Trulli's been heard to complain about driving for a new team, that they weren't as quick as he expected them to be. If Kovalainen beats him on qualifying and on points this season - especially on qualifying, since he's Formula 1's resident one-lap expert - he may decide to hang up the helmet. Who else would Lotus get to replace him?

HRT are running low on cash and need a quick extra injection of cash for one race. Maybe because Bruno came up short in the dollars department? Yamamoto could've offered to pay extortionate amounts to bail them out on this one occasion.

Except there is no new sposorship on the car. The only addition for Silverstone is the Jaypee Group - the consortium constructing the circuit in India - and they're obviously Chandhok's sponsors. Nor have either of Senna's sponsors, Embratel and Banco Cruzerio do Sol (you can't see Embratel in that shot; it's on the rear wing) fallen off the car.

 

[Alex.]

What if Yamamoto himself has the cash and not sponsors?

 

[0zzy]

Senna may have said something to the team along the lines of "The car's a ****box" and he was punished with a ban for 1 race.

This is the vibe I'm getting from all over the net.