F1 » Senna: I can only wait so long

Senna shouldn''t even be in the reckoning - he''s not ready for F1 and would still be in F3 if it wasn''t for his adopted surname. The Honda pull out doesn''t excuse the shoddy treatment of Rubens Barrichello.

Melonfarmer, your comments about Bruno are way off. Whilst a season in a F1 test role may be the wiser option, rather than heading straight for a race seat, it is undeniable he has come on leaps & bounds since he first sat in ANY competition race seat in 2005. You don't win races, beat your contemporaries who've been at it a heck of a lot longer than you, nor narrowly miss out on a championship, simply by having a familiar surname... a surname which is on his birth cirtificate so is hardly 'adopted'. Granted the family business initially helped finance his climb, but it's the man himself who actually drove the car to the victories & numerous podiums, the name then is incidental.

joe - agreed. He's doing fantastically well considering his experience. If not for mechanical failure and a stray dog he'd have been a lot closer to Pantano in GP2 or even won it. The surname undoubtedly helps open doors for him (and I am sure it's as much of a hinderance at times away from the track) but he's the guy in the drivers seat and he's delivering.

Kimi went from FRenault to F1, how come he can do that successfully yet Senna can't even graduate from GP2 runner-up to F1 in some peoples' eyes?

He's not ready for F1 yet, seriously over-rated IMO. Look how many mistakes he made this season when in a good points scoring position if not leading.

binza, if you are judging by how many mistakes one makes in a season look no further than how many lewis hamilton or fellipe massa made this year when in a good points position, and they've been at this for much longer than he has. to have gotten to the level of competitiveness he has in such a short time is not down to his name, its down to his tallent. a test driver role would be good for him in 09, but if this team survive and are looking for sponsors then he'll pobably get a race seat.

As regards his name, I'm no officianado of Portuguese formal names but I thought he was 'Lalli'..his uncle Ayrton 'Senna da Silva' who dropped the 'da Silva.' I know his mother retained 'Senna' upon marriage and is addressed 'Lalli Senna' but I thought it hers alone ?? I assumed he'd apodpted 'Senna' for a race career but, come what may, it could hardly hinder him. Given the financial aid and the number of important individuals he can count for a advice, I think it fair to say he's had good advantage over others with similar talent. That's not to suggest he's mediocre, not in any way, he's obviusly very good, but his name is obviously an important aspect of any plans he has in motor racing..

Joe, nonsense, compare the records and opportunities provided to Mike Conway, (say) Bruno's F3 teammate and 2006 champion and let's ask how a Honda test worked out for him. Raikkonen Robertson, Arden and iSport are quality teams so to get an F1 drive having not have won a championship when drivers like Bordais, Pantano and di Grassi are kicking around is ludicrous. It will come down to Petrobas and Embratel *** - go on son, make your uncle proud by buying a drive.

He's going to suffer because of a what will most likely be a thin grid and since there's been a lot of GP2 guys promoted up over the past couple of years and need some time to be fully assessed it'll be difficult for him to get a look in.

It's hard to rate his GP2 season per se - he had a thick slice of bad luck, but then again di Grassi missed the first six rounds altogether. Even Pantano had a silly decision go against him in the final event (in the rain, he accidentally nerfed someone out and was excluded from the entire weekend - how on earth does it make sense to exclude the most experienced driver? - it's hardly like he's making inexperienced boneheaded moves)

Or else what? Given the current crisis in F1 he does not seem to be in a position to demand much. Unless he is bringing some big sponsors that is.

He will be in F1 be it because of his name, talent or a blend of both...
Good for him and good for F1 too... sponsers and a good name can't hurt.
I do though think that Pantano deserves a seat too...