Senna in wrong place at wrong time

Bruno Senna

Bruno Senna has admitted that his hoped-for entry into Formula 1 in 2009 came unstuck largely as a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he is adamant that it is 'not the end of the world' – and he remains hopeful of getting another chance in twelve months' time.

“At first it was a big disappointment," Senna reflected, speaking exclusively to Crash.net Radio. “Obviously it was something we thought we had a pretty good chance at, and I think we did, but it just turned out that things changed very quickly from the end of last year to now, and things are still changing a lot in Formula 1.

“We knew that Ross was quite busy with all the final preparations and last-minute arrangements for the team. They called us to cancel the meeting, and we didn't really hear from them officially in any way, but we just knew the way things were going and what the result would be.

“I think I did a really good job in the tests especially, and had I had any more opportunities to test, then I'm pretty certain I would have been able to secure the seat, but things just went in a way that I couldn't prove my capacity or my talent anymore. That's the way it is; the way the regulations are nowadays, it makes it very difficult for any drivers to go into Formula 1. It's the same for everybody."

“I wasn't as confident as the rumors obviously," he underlined, “because the rumors were a bit too optimistic and everything seemed to be fitting too perfectly! Obviously we had much more inside information that maintained a good reality check, so we knew that it wasn't as simple as the rumors were making it out to be.

“Regardless of there being new regulations or not, I'm very, very certain that I would have been able to sit down in the car, have a few days to learn all of its tricks and then make sure that the team moved forward. I've always been put in difficult situations in motor racing since I started; I've always had to jump stages and learn very, very quickly, and I have done that very successfully.

“I don't see any reason why I wouldn't be able to arrive here (in F1) and take very little time to learn the trade and get the team moving forward. It's not something that would overawe me for sure, but again, it's something that I needed a few days to convince Ross about.

“In that situation, it was very natural for him to choose the one that he knows very well and go with an experienced driver like Rubens – to go for the safe bet when he had so little time to prepare for the racing. It's something I'm sure many other people would do as well."

“I think things will start to get a bit more stable," the São Paulo native concluded. “In my opinion, this is the worst moment that motor racing is going to face for a long time. It just turns out that I came into it at the wrong time, if you look at it this way. It's difficult to be always in the right place at the right time when things change so much.

“It is a very difficult moment, and who can analyze all the variables and all the changes that are going to come, and make all the right decisions? For sure it's time to deliberate a little bit and get a good chance for the next opportunity. It's not the end of the world at all."