Tech boss says Brazilian had "remarkable" debut, despite error
Last Updated: September 6, 2011 1:26pm
Senna: 'remarkable weekend'
Renault technical director James Allison has hailed Bruno Senna's "remarkable weekend" at the Belgian Grand Prix, despite the mistake the Brazilian made at the start of the race.
Previously the team's test driver, Senna was promoted to a race seat in place of Nick Heidfeld at Spa-Francorchamps the weekend before last. Having driven Renault's R31 just twice previously, he produced a superb performance in qualifying to line up seventh on the grid, three places ahead of team-mate Vitaly Petrov.
However, a first corner accident when he ran into the side of Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari that forced the Spaniard into retirement took the gloss off his overall display.
Senna eventually finished 13th, four places and 21 seconds behind Petrov, yet despite that his mere presence alone has apparently lifted all at the Enstone-based team.
There was more good news for Senna late last week when he was confirmed for the race seat for the remainder of the season after Renault reached an amicable agreement with Heidfeld to step aside.
Looking back, Allison said: "I don't think anyone needs insider information from the team to know that Bruno had a remarkable weekend.
High hurdle
"The current regulations place a very high hurdle in the path of any driver coming in mid-season as there is no opportunity to get up to speed in the relatively unpressured environment of the test track.
"On top of that Bruno had to make his debut for us at Spa, a circuit which definitely separates the men from the boys.
"Finally, he had to manage qualifying in exceptionally difficult track conditions.
"To face all these challenges and to place the car P7 on the grid was a fantastic achievement on any scale.
"I know Bruno was kicking himself for the incident at the first corner in the race, but my view is that it was a completely understandable error.
"It was the first time he had ever felt the car on full fuel and he was surrounded by competitors already 11 races into their season.
"His subsequent race was run at a very respectable pace, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in the car again."
Senna will be looking to build on his promising start in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza this weekend.
Credit: Sky Sports (www.skysports.com)
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