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
Formula One drivers from Japan finishing 11th and 2 laps down in the 1977 edition. "The Father of Drifting" was the last Japanese driver to enter an F1 race for a decade. Kunimitsu Takahashi entered a single race, the 1977 Japanese GP, and finished a respectable 9th place. Satoru Nakajima became the first full-time Japanese Formula One driver in 1987, as a Honda-affiliated driver for Team Lotus alongside established Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna. In a career that spanned 5 seasons and 80 Grands Prix, he made a name for himself as a respected mid-field runner, who despite never beating his team-mates in the Drivers' Championship