Senna to Williams in 2012?

[Ranger]

Senna fecha com Williams para correr temporada de 2012, diz jornalista - Grande Prêmio / Fórmula 1 - IG (http://grandepremio.ig.com.br/formula1/2011/12/21/senna+fecha+com+williams+para+correr+temporada+de+ 2012+da+f1+diz+radio+10541720.html)

Apparently a done deal.

Which would be unfortunate as Alguersuari, Sutil and Barrichello look to be without drives for 2012, despite being better drivers... although presumably with less cash.

[jens]

I'm not sure it is a done deal as only Brazilian media has been reporting it so far, but rumours about Senna-Williams negotiations have certainly been gathering pace recently. Well, what can I say. I'd say driving-wise Sutil would be the better choice for Williams at the moment. But probably Senna has managed to find an irresistible amount of money, much more than Sutil (or Barrichello for that matter) have managed.

Line-up of Maldonado and Senna? Williams would have two drivers, who have had some impressive qualifying runs, but are yet to prove themselves in race trim.

[Robinho]

whilst I would be very happy to see Senna stay in F1, as I like him, I would rather see Sutil and Alguesari ahead of him in the queue

[DexDexter]

Senna is ok, but Sutil must be on the grid next year, I mean he drove very well in the second half of the season and he even has sponsorship. If he doesn't get a drive, his manager should look hard in the mirror.

[Koz]

Senna is ok, but Sutil must be on the grid next year, I mean he drove very well in the second half of the season and he even has sponsorship. If he doesn't get a drive, his manager should look hard in the mirror.

He will have a drive. Most likely Jarno's seat.

[call_me_andrew]

I would be very happy to see Senna stay in F1

I would be very happy to see qualified drivers instead.

[Prisoner Monkeys]

Williams, to me, is a bit like Ridley Scott.

Scott's first films, most notable ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER, were his best. He made some good ones following that, like THELMA & LOUISE and GI JANE, but he never quite achived the same heights. Then, some time around 2001, and lost it. GLADIATOR was the last good film he made. Everything since has slowly spiralled down, until 2010's soulless and joyless ROBIN HOOD. Fortuantely, the trailer for PROMETHEUS went up yesterday, and it was the first time I had been genuinely excited for a Ridley Scott film in years.

Williams is much the same. 1992-93 was probably about the last time they were truly exciting, and Jacques Villeneuve was their GLADIATOR. Then, around 2001, they started to go downhill (though I will always have a soft spot for Juan Pablo Montoya, simply because he was one of the few drivers that ever seemed to have anything interesting to say). This came to a head in 2011, their worst season since their inception. 2011 was Williams' ROBIN HOOD. There was no longer any joy in watching them race.

What Williams need for 2012 is a PROMETHEUS - someone who can re-ignite the spark of excitement within. They had their chance with Kimi Raikkonen (though personally, I am not a fan), and lost it. And I don't think Bruno Senna or Adrian Sutil would replace that, either. The other popular rumour at the moment is that Ferrari are pushing hard to get Jules Bianchi into a seat for 2012, and that they are leaning on Sauber to buy Kamui Kobayashi out of his contract. Kobayashi, it is believed, would wind up at Williams. Althought the FW33 was a shopping trolley cleverly disguised as a racing car, Kobayashi has what Williams needs: the spark. He is their PROMETHEUS, the person who can make Williams exciting again.

[DexDexter]

I would be very happy to see qualified drivers instead.

I don't know. Senna qualified very well on many occasions and had some good and some bad races. He is certainly a qualified driver based also on his performances in GP2. The problem for him is there are quite a few qualified drivers looking for one or two seats.

[Nikki Katz]

Senna is ok, but Sutil must be on the grid next year, I mean he drove very well in the second half of the season and he even has sponsorship. If he doesn't get a drive, his manager should look hard in the mirror.
I agree, Senna's ok and it would be a shame to see him disappear, but much less so than Sutil. I can't believe after the best season that a Force India driver has ever had he's still looking doubtful for a seat.

Also, a Senna/Maldonado lineup seems a little weak to me.

I wouldn't say it's a done deal that Trulli will be dropped either; that certainly seemed to be the mood a couple of months ago, but that's all gone quiet recently. And if he is dropped I bet it'll be for Petrov.

[Stuartf12007]

Good choice. Senna will prove a valuable signing for Willaims if it happens

[driveace]

Williams would be better without Paster,BUT without him where will the money to run the team come from?

[BDunnell]

Am I alone in being singularly unexcited by all the possible driver options at Williams' disposal? None will ever set the world alight.

[Robinho]

I would be very happy to see qualified drivers instead.

nice selective quoting there :rolleyes:

[jens]

Am I alone in being singularly unexcited by all the possible driver options at Williams' disposal? None will ever set the world alight.

This is what happens, when you are rapidly going towards the rear end of the grid. The only chance for Williams to stumble across a 'world star' is if they happen to hire a very promising rookie, like once Minardi hired Alonso and others. But even then it can be recalled that they let Hülkenberg, a star of the feeder series, go...

If you are expecting a future WDC at Williams, then you can be unexcited about the driver options of Williams. Otherwise it's not that bad as long as they don't resort to hiring drivers in the caliber of Fauzy, Chandhok or Yamamoto. In that car no-one would be able to score many points anyway. You can also claim that the line-ups of Marussia and HRT leave you unexcited, but it doesn't matter, since they are unable to achieve anything anyway.

[ShiftingGears]

This is what happens, when you are rapidly going towards the rear end of the grid. The only chance for Williams to stumble across a 'world star' is if they happen to hire a very promising rookie, like once Minardi hired Alonso and others. But even then it can be recalled that they let Hülkenberg, a star of the feeder series, go...

If you are expecting a future WDC at Williams, then you can be unexcited about the driver options of Williams. Otherwise it's not that bad as long as they don't resort to hiring drivers in the caliber of Fauzy, Chandhok or Yamamoto. In that car no-one would be able to score many points anyway. You can also claim that the line-ups of Marussia and HRT leave you unexcited, but it doesn't matter, since they are unable to achieve anything anyway.

I've always felt that the car was the most important drawcard at Williams, moreso than other teams. Traditionally there isn't a culture of nurturing the driver, which I think becomes more important if the car is sub-par.

[sdutt]

i think Senna will be a good choice as he did quite decently in Renault. Williams though have slowly faded and there doesnt seem to be any improvements ocming the way its going :(

[shazbot]

i think Senna will be a good choice as he did quite decently in Renault. Williams though have slowly faded and there doesnt seem to be any improvements ocming the way its going :(

I'm not so sure about that. With Renault engines and a refreshed technical and aero dept i think we will see a mini revival of sorts. Certainly a much stronger season than last. I think this time next year we will be looking back on a strong year that improved towards seasons end and looking foward to 2013.

[Mekola]

I will be glad to see Bruno in Williams for 2012, although there are other drivers in dance for that seat.

[Jag_Warrior]

I would like to see him paired with a veteran racer, but I'd like to see Bruno at Williams.

[Malbec]

Am I alone in being singularly unexcited by all the possible driver options at Williams' disposal? None will ever set the world alight.

It seems like a sign of desperation, rather like signing Coughlan. I think it says a lot that the only teams I can think of with a weaker lineup (assuming Senna is indeed signed) are HRT and STR with the latter shackled by Red Bull's bizarre driver decision. While I think Maldonaldo has spark both drivers are inexperienced and are unlikely to threaten the podium even in a competitive car. Poor choice.

Williams might rue not signing Rubens or Sutil if Lotus finally manage to break into a points scoring position which they might do with a new Renault powertrain and KERS. They may well lose more money through finishing another place or two down than they gain from sponsorship.

[Dr. Krogshöj]

How is this going to work sponsor-wise? Senna's sponsors include an oil company (OGX) and a telecom (Embratel) while Williams already has sponsors from those industries, PDVSA and AT&T.

[RS]

How is this going to work sponsor-wise? Senna's sponsors include an oil company (OGX) and a telecom (Embratel) while Williams already has sponsors from those industries, PDVSA and AT&T.

Williams looking for new title sponsor after splitting with AT&T - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96881)

[f1kid1987]

I think they should get rid of Maldanaldo, he was rubbish last season, the only reason he gets the seat due to his sponsership, Senna and Alguersuari would be an exciting line up due to both had strong end to the season

[jens]

I think they should get rid of Maldanaldo, he was rubbish last season, the only reason he gets the seat due to his sponsership, Senna and Alguersuari would be an exciting line up due to both had strong end to the season

IMO Maldonado left a stronger impression than Senna last year. Pastor actually had some good races too, especially considering on the whole his car was inferior to Senna's. The one advantage though is that Maldonado got a full season to get to grips with F1, while Senna got only a partial season.

[The Black Knight]

The fact that Williams have not confirmed their drivers yet just shows to me that they are still a team in disarray. This is far too late to be deciding who your driver is going to be. Maldonado is only there because of sponsorship. He's a nothing driver in my opinion, and they can't decide who the other driver will be yet. The second driver will now have almost zero input into the new car. Another season at the back for Williams. Any team that takes this long to decide their driver line up deserves to be at the back.

[Robinho]

why rush, there are a handful of decent, if not world beating, drivers, with no seat for next year. Williams don't need to rush into a decision when they can have the pick of Barrichello, Sutil, Alguesari, Senna, Heidfield, Liuzzi, Bottas, D'Ambrosio. Once they have sorted the budget, new title sponsor (much more pressing IMO) then they can finalise the driver line up. Its not like they could be left with no choice as there is nowhere else for these guys to go. Clearly they need the money, but it looks to me they are trying to sort that part before picking a driver, rather than letting it dictate a driver. Anyhow, Rubens will have had a decent amount of input into the car already, there is precious little a driver could do between New Year and the first test on a car that should already be 95% complete

[Dave B]

^ what he said. There are a dozen or so drivers desperate to be on the grid so if Williams play this right they can virtually take their pick from quite a pool of talent. To rush into a couple of pay drivers now would be foolish in my humble.

[Stuartf12007]

Maldonado = Pedro Diniz :D

[Malbec]

IMO Maldonado left a stronger impression than Senna last year. Pastor actually had some good races too, especially considering on the whole his car was inferior to Senna's. The one advantage though is that Maldonado got a full season to get to grips with F1, while Senna got only a partial season.

Indeed. Also lets not forget that Maldonaldo was far more competitive relative to Rubens than his predecessor the WunderKind extraordinaire Hulkenberg, particularly in qualifying.

[Roamy]

Its the least they could do for Bruno after giving Aryton a sh!t steering column

[Tumbo]

Pretty rough there with that last statement

[The Black Knight]

why rush, there are a handful of decent, if not world beating, drivers, with no seat for next year. Williams don't need to rush into a decision when they can have the pick of Barrichello, Sutil, Alguesari, Senna, Heidfield, Liuzzi, Bottas, D'Ambrosio. Once they have sorted the budget, new title sponsor (much more pressing IMO) then they can finalise the driver line up. Its not like they could be left with no choice as there is nowhere else for these guys to go. Clearly they need the money, but it looks to me they are trying to sort that part before picking a driver, rather than letting it dictate a driver. Anyhow, Rubens will have had a decent amount of input into the car already, there is precious little a driver could do between New Year and the first test on a car that should already be 95% complete

While you make some vaild points, in that I'm sure they want the best driver possible in that seat, leaving the driver decision this late into the development of the new car will mean that should they decide to pick someone like Bruno, then they will be picking someone that doesn't know the team or the car. At this stage the smart thing to do would be to keep Rubens for another year as he has been involved in the new cars development. If they choose another driver other than him at this stage then they are undeserving of a good 2012.

With any other team I would be confident of Rubens chances of retaining his seat for 2012 without an announcement having been made already, however, Williams have been so bad at choosing their drivers in recent years that it wouldn't surprise me if they went for a second pay driver.

[The Black Knight]

Oh yeah, I'd rate Diniz higher than I'd rate Maldonado.

[RS]

Maldonado is bringing such a huge amount of money though that he really has to be there. £25m is what I've heard mentioned previously so he's not your average pay driver. He's also a reasonable pedaller but he wouldn't be there without the cash I guess.

It seems Williams really are trying to get things back on track but I'm fearful they're going to go the way of Jordan, gradually falling down the grid and being forced to take pay drivers until maybe eventually being sold to a sucession of multi millionaires.

[Robinho]

Indeed. Also lets not forget that Maldonaldo was far more competitive relative to Rubens than his predecessor the WunderKind extraordinaire Hulkenberg, particularly in qualifying.

That assumes that Rubens performance is constant and that he hasn't been getting slower with age

[davidjwest]

Keep Rubens, two young, relatively inexperienced drivers isn't good for a team in William's position right now. Rubens is dependable if unexciting and he's more likely to nick a few points with a midfield (at best) car than the other candidates I reckon.

[zako85]

I would be surprised if Williams decides to go with two relatively young drivers. My money is on Barrichello or Sutil getting the second seat. If Williams has any sort of long term vision, it seems that the later is more desirable.