2011 Formula 1 Season Thread

Bruno Senna replaces Nick Heidfeld at Renault, says Eddie Jordan

By Eddie Jordan
BBC F1 chief analyst


German Nick Heidfeld has been dropped by the Renault team in favour of Brazilian Bruno Senna for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

Renault made a promising start to the 2011 season but their form has slipped amid rumours of funding shortages, which the team have denied.

While Heidfeld is on a salary, Senna, Renault's reserve driver, comes with several million pounds of sponsorship.

It will be Senna's first race since last season, when he drove for HRT.

The 27-year-old nephew of the late Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna is expected to race for Renault in the eight remaining races this season alongside Russian Vitaly Petrov.

Senna made his debut for HRT last season but left the team after a trying year with the struggling outfit.

HEIDFELD'S HIGHS & LOWS
Continue reading the main story
Made his debut in 2000 with the Prost team, scoring a best finish of eighth
First podium finish for the Sauber team in 2001 when he came third in Brazil
Has finished second in eight Grands Prix without winning a race
Holds the record for scoring the most points and podiums without a race victory
He joined Renault this season in the hope that he would eventually be promoted to a race drive.

Heidfeld was drafted in by Renault before the start of the season as a replacement for the team's number one driver, Robert Kubica, who was seriously injured in a rallying crash in February.

The Pole suffered a partially severed hand and leg and arm fractures and is still recuperating and it remains unclear when - or if - he will be able to return to F1.

Kubica's doctors told Autosport magazine last week that he hoped to be fit enough to drive in an F1 simulator by the end of September.

Heidfeld, a veteran of 10 years in F1, was chosen as his substitute because of the 34-year-old's proven points scoring record.

But after a podium in the second race of the season in Malaysia, he and the team have not been able to reach the same heights again.

Nevertheless, Heidfeld has scored points in five further races, and lies eighth in the championship two points clear of Petrov, who is in his second season in F1.

Kubica finished last season eighth in the championship, scoring 136 points to Petrov's 27.

Connection to a computer thing at the BBC where this was typed (article ;) )


Im very happy to see this kid back in a car. i have been wanting to see what he can really do. now lets see Hulkenburg get a ride.
 
^

could end up pretty as an expensive repair bill.
 
i hate bruno senna

he hasn't poven a single thing, yet his name provides him with so much money he can do whatever he want
 
he hasn't poven a single thing, yet his name provides him with so much money he can do whatever he want

I agree but then again he hasn't had the equipment to prove anything...
 
I agree but then again he hasn't had the equipment to prove anything...

Same thing for Karun Chandok, when they were at HRT which is a GP2 car tarted up to F1 specs. Though based on what I've seen, Bruno should have better pace overall.
 
i hate bruno senna

he hasn't poven a single thing, yet his name provides him with so much money he can do whatever he want

Yeah, after seeing him perform in Hungary, you could tell he wasn't confident on taming the Renault and completely unaware of the tricky parts of the track such as Turn 16 onto the straight because the adherence difference in the tarmac but, well experience plays also a part...

I was lately thinking also about the lame marketing strategy of using the family name just to build a career (which until now it's been working damn fine).
Vitaly also bring tons of new cash but also his crazy-Russian steel balls into the table. I'm just glad I wasn't alone on my perception.
Sadly now Heidfeld is paying the price of Renault being the shameless whore.<_<




 
Last edited:
I was lately thinking also about the lame marketing strategy of using the family name just to build a career (which until now it's been working damn fine).

he shouldn't even be carrying the name. ayrton was the brother of his mother....
 
Unless his father was also a Senna... Either way, his performance today is pretty convincing that he's not that bad
 
he shouldn't even be carrying the name. ayrton was the brother of his mother....

So? I don't carry the name of my dad...
 
i hate bruno senna

he hasn't poven a single thing, yet his name provides him with so much money he can do whatever he want

Who could have proven anything in an HRT and a single session on a car he barely drove at all? I think if it was about money, he would have been racing in F1 for years now (he's 27!) and if anything the name casts a shadow over him that he will find extremely difficult to overcome.
 
I think even the fact that his helmet is in the same basic colours as Senna's is also an attempt in that
 
Who could have proven anything in an HRT and a single session on a car he barely drove at all? I think if it was about money, he would have been racing in F1 for years now (he's 27!) and if anything the name casts a shadow over him that he will find extremely difficult to overcome.

if he were that good, he would've been driving for years as well!
but well, he surprised me big time yesterday, i might have to reconsider. let's see what happens today!
 
I think he can be forgiven slightly, since he's not been in F1 for quite some time, but still, he was probably still too hot going in.
 
Being quick in practice session is one thing, but that bone-headed move into the first corner was just utterly stupid. He may have the same name, but he certainly hasn't got Ayrton's skills. I don't buy Renaults spin of Heidfeld being too slow. If that would be the case, Petrov should have been dropped, because before Spa he had less points than Heidfeld. Renault is trying to auction off bullshit and nobody's bidding.
 
why does Eddie Jordan rub me the wrong way?
He asks the right questions (difficult questions) sometimes, but the way he gets worked up in disagreement with the guys he interviews feels weird..
Then he always hugs them, or puts his arm around them with a huge grin in order to salvage the interview when it's time to move on. lol
 
Being quick in practice session is one thing, but that bone-headed move into the first corner was just utterly stupid. He may have the same name, but he certainly hasn't got Ayrton's skills. I don't buy Renaults spin of Heidfeld being too slow. If that would be the case, Petrov should have been dropped, because before Spa he had less points than Heidfeld. Renault is trying to auction off bullshit and nobody's bidding.

Petrov brings a shit load of money to the team not to mention the future owners of the team are Russian and they won't allow him to be sacked, they're also making a lot of money in Russia thanks to him. Heidfeld was there to be the quick one and get results but he did not deliver enough to be worth the hassle and Senna, again, brings a shit load of cash to the table. Renault made the business deal as opposed to your sentimental views. You're entitled to them of course but don't expect a F1 to do the sentimental thing rather than the smart thing.

All this money will help them a lot developing next year's car and they're counting on Kubica to come back and get some results for em so this may be a much smarter move than you think. IF Kubica will manage to recover well and get back to race winning shape.
 
Top