Bruno Senna were it to make the 2009 grid, until Rubens Barrichello was reported to have re-signed with the team. Senna decided not to sign with Mercedes for the 2009 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season "to focus completely on his Formula One chances". Bruno Senna said to the BBC in an interview that he did not want to negotiate with Lotus because of sentimental reasons as his uncle Ayrton Senna took his first win with Team Lotus. He also told the BBC that "I felt important to enter F1 now otherwise I would never be in it". He also told the BBC he
Ayrton Senna its bigger physical size in comparison to a smaller Formula One car. To familiarise himself, Senna initially ran 14 relatively slow laps before completing a further 10 laps on the same tyres and setting a best time of 49.09 seconds. By comparison, Fittipaldi had set a best time of 49.70 seconds, which he later improved to 48.5 seconds, only by using the new 1993 Penske PC-22 at his disposal during this test session. For , attempts by McLaren boss Ron Dennis to secure a supply of the dominant Renault V10 engines failed. Similarly, Senna's offers to drive for Williams-Renault for