Renault pleased with Senna debut

It may have been a controversial decision and with impending legal wrangling's we might not have heard the end of it, but Bruno Senna enjoyed an eventful debut for the Renault team at the weekend.

An impressive qualifying session meant that the Brazilian started the race from seventh on the grid.

His race however was severely hampered after a poor start.

Having only driven the Renault in practice and qualifying, the first corner was the first time Senna had attempted the first turn under a heavy fuel load. The result was the Renault crashing into Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari at the start, which resulted in a drive-through penalty.

'Unfortunately I misjudged the braking point a little bit and the grip on the inside and I ended up hitting Jaime, It was very unfortunate and I'm sorry for him. Then it was unfortunate with the penalty and I tried to push as hard as possible from the back and see what I could get.' Senna told the BBC.



He added: 'It was a tough task to ask for the perfect weekend on my first race in the middle of the season,' he said. 'But I think I managed to pull it off pretty well.

Renault boss Eric Boullier agreed adding: 'He needs to improve on this [starts] but a good race, If he can deliver like he did this weekend in every race I think he will be good enough to bring points home.'

With German driver Nick Heidfeld pursuing legal action, it isn't clear just how many races Senna will drive for Renault this season.

Previous reports had indicated that Senna would complete the remainder of the 2011 Formula One calendar, but Renault have yet to make a further statement on the matter.

It has been suggested that court proceedings will be concluded in around three weeks time.