Bruno Senna Q&A: Singapore brings out best in a driver
Two races down and his first world championship points in the bag, Bruno Senna’s honeymoon period with Renault is over. Now he’s looking to step things up a gear in this weekend’s 2011 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix around the challenging Marina Bay Street Circuit. Senna concedes he still has plenty to learn about the R31 and its Pirelli tyres and hence will be looking to maximise his practice mileage ahead of Sunday’s race. But the Brazilian is also relishing the prospect of the calendar’s only night race…
Q: You’ve been making a lot of history lately; your first race for Renault, your first F1 points - what’s next?
Bruno Senna: It’s hard to say. We are progressing nicely, and I’m gradually becoming more comfortable with the car and with the team. There are a number of areas I still need to progress; I need to improve my technical knowledge of the R31 and there are some areas of my driving to brush up on - I’m certainly not 100 percent there yet. I’m sweeping up every piece of information I can each weekend and I hope that, as a team, we can continue scoring points and secure top 10 qualifying positions in the meantime - we should be household names in Q3 every Saturday afternoon. Hopefully by the time I’m fully acquainted with the car, I’ll be securing more points for the team.Q: Has the reality now sunk in that you are a Renault race driver?
BS: Yes, it has well and truly sunk in. I had a great time in Monza because I already had one race under my belt. I have had various outings in the R31 this year, but I haven’t had the race weekend experience that the other drivers on the grid have had; they were fully up to speed with their cars and aware of what they could achieve by the time I arrived. Everything is, of course, a little new from my point of view. Before Monza, I’d only had one experience of qualifying, which was very tough. The race was a great learning curve; it was enjoyable and I think it was a very encouraging result considering how much trouble I was in at the first corner. The evidence is there for all to see that the car performed well and the team adopted a good strategy - two very encouraging signs indeed.
Q: What has been the most trying aspect of your new role?
BS: It has been quite tricky getting used to the tyres. Everyone started this season talking about tyres, tyres and tyres but, as with most things, the more practice you can get the easier it becomes. Getting the most out of the Pirelli tyres is not easy; it’s a big learning curve, but it’s apparent there is plenty of potential to come (from them), so I hope to piece it all together in the next few races.
Q: The Singapore Grand Prix - this being a night race, how will your approach change?
BS: Singapore will be a real test. It’s a fairly recent addition to the calendar in F1 terms, and it will be quite a novelty for me. It will be quite demanding to extract everything I can from the car, but I am enthusiastic about what awaits, and I hope I can reward the team with some more points.
I will approach the weekend in a similar vein to Monza by completing as many laps as possible in the practice sessions, which will hopefully help me reach Q3 in qualifying. Singapore is a trying track; there are so many corners and you have to be on the ball to avoid making mistakes; it really does bring out the best in a driver. Knowing how to set up the car is not easy either. Physically, it’s also difficult because it is very humid and the track requires you to be precise corner after corner. Driving at night, you notice the combination of light and shadow which takes some getting used to. As with the Malaysian GP, Singapore requires you to arrive at the track a little earlier to help acclimatise. Having said that, the team will also remain on their British Summer Time body clocks because of the weekend’s timetable! I’m looking forward to a fun and different type of race weekend.
Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (www.formula1.com)
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