17 January 2012. Grove, UK. Williams F1 (Ticker: WGF1) today confirmed that Bruno Senna will contest the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship for the Williams F1 Team. The appointment finalises the team's line up for this year following confirmation in December that Pastor Maldonado will enter his second season in Formula One as a Williams race driver. Bruno will make his debut with the Williams F1 Team in Jerez on 9th February at the first of the winter tests.

Frank Williams, Team Principal, said, "Bruno only started racing when he was 20 years old but quickly proved his talent in F3 and GP2. In a tightly fought 2008 GP2 season, Bruno finished second in the Championship with notable victories in Monaco and Silverstone, the latter in the wet. The circumstances of Bruno's two seasons in Formula One have not given him an ideal opportunity to deliver consistently so it was essential that we spent as much time with him as possible to understand and evaluate him as a driver. We have done this both on track and in our simulator and he has proven quick, technically insightful and above all capable of learning and applying his learning quickly and consistently. Now we are looking forward to seeing that talent in our race car."

Bruno commented, "I feel very privileged that Williams has selected me as one of their race drivers. The team has a great heritage and I hope I can help write a good chapter in their history. The evaluation process has been intense and methodical but the time I have spent in the factory has demonstrated that the team has great people and all the resources needed to achieve better things this season.

"It will be very interesting to drive for a team that my uncle has driven for, particularly as quite a few of the people here actually worked with Ayrton. Hopefully we can bring back some memories and create some great new ones too. I also want to get some good results in return for the support my country has given me to help get me to this position today. I am very proud to be Brazilian and more motivated than ever to demonstrate what I can do. Ever since I first sat in a go-kart I never wanted to do anything else."


- Ends -

Images of Bruno can be downloaded at www.williams.latphoto.co.uk

A video edit for broadcast use can be downloaded from www.williamsf1broadcast.com. For access please enter the password: williamsf12012.

BIOGRAPHY: BRUNO SENNA

Nationality: Brazilian
Date of birth:15th October 1983
Place of birth: São Paulo, Brazil
Lives: Monaco
Height: 1.8m
Weight: 69kg
Marital status: Single
Hobbies: Cycling, swimming, boxing, music and PS3


FORMULA ONE STATISTICS TO DATE
F1 debut: Bahrain 2010
Starts: 26
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
Total points: 2

Born in São Paulo in 1983, Bruno Senna showed talent from an early age when he raced karts against his uncle, Ayrton, on the family farm. However, Bruno was a relative latecomer to professional motorsport, not making his competitive race debut until 2004 in the Formula BMW UK Championship at the age of 20. Since then he has made an impressive rise through the ranks to make his Formula One debut in 2010.

In 2005 Bruno began the first of two seasons competing in the British F3 Championship with Räikkönen Robertson Racing. After picking up three podiums in the final races of 2005, Bruno went on to take five victories en route to securing third in the 2006 Championship.

In 2007, Bruno graduated to GP2 with Arden International. He finished fourth on his debut in Bahrain and scored his first win in the feature race in Spain at the following event. He signed for iSport International in 2008 and claimed his first win of the season in the Monaco feature race. In total, Bruno claimed two wins, six podiums and three pole positions, narrowly missing out on the title.

Bruno had his first taste of Formula One in 2008 when he took part in a one day test for Honda. However, when the manufacturer decided to pull out of the sport, Bruno switched his attentions to sports car racing. In 2009 he took part in three Le Mans Series races (claiming podium finishes in two of them) and also had the opportunity to compete in the famous Le Mans 24 Hours. This proved a useful stepping stone in his career as Bruno joined the newly formed Hispania Racing team for his Formula One race debut in 2010.

Bruno started the 2011 season as official reserve driver for Lotus Renault GP. He competed in eight races after replacing Nick Heidfeld from the Belgium Grand Prix onwards, qualifying seventh for his first race. After qualifying within the top ten once again in Monza, Bruno secured his first Formula One points with a ninth place finish.

Bruno joins Pastor Maldonado at Williams F1 for the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship season starting in Australia on the 18th March.


CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

2011: FIA Formula One World Championship with Lotus Renault GP (8 races, 18th)
2010: FIA Formula One World Championship with Hispania Racing (23rd)
2009: Le Mans Series, 2 podiums (from 3 starts)
Le Mans 24 Hours
2008: GP2 Championship, 2nd overall: 2 wins, 6 podiums, 3 poles
First Formula One test with Honda
2007: GP2 Championship, 8th overall: 1 win, 3 podiums
2006: British Formula 3 Championship, 3rd overall: 5 wins, 9 podiums, 3 poles
2005: British Formula 3 Championship, 10th overall: 1 pole
2004: Formula BMW UK Championship

For more information on the team please visit www.williamsf1.com

Thank you.
The Williams F1 Communications Office