Bruno Senna, Rubens Barrichello and Adrian Sutil. The one thing that ties these three drivers at various stages of their Formula One careers is that they have been linked to the remaining seat at Wiliiams. The former championship winning team has fallen on hard times of late. However, the return of Renault as an engine supplier and the hiring of former McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan has made the team the centre of a lot of speculation in terms of F1's driver line-up.
Kimi Raikkonen was involved in discussions with the team before signing for Lotus (formerly Renault). And now according to the Brazilian sports news agency Globo Esporte, former Renault driver Bruno Senna has been spotted visiting Williams' headquarters in Grove, Great Britain.
The team has already confirmed the 2010 GP2 champion, Venezuela's Pastor Maldonado as one of their drivers. Maldonado is heavily backed by the country's state owned petroleum company PDVSA, which has been seen as an important factor in the team's decision to retain him for 2012. Senna similarly has a significant sponsor in Embratel, Brazil's second largest telecommunications company.
Former Force India driver Adrian Sutil not only brings significant sponsorship from German consumer electronics company Medion, but impressive speed as well. The German had a particularly strong end to the 2011 season and finished a career-best ninth in the drivers' championship and helped Force India finish just four points behind faltering Renault in the constructors' championship.
However, 39-year-old Barrichello remains in the hunt as well due to being the most experienced F1 driver on the grid and being a race-winning driver at two world championship winning teams as recently as 2009.
{{/usCountry}}However, 39-year-old Barrichello remains in the hunt as well due to being the most experienced F1 driver on the grid and being a race-winning driver at two world championship winning teams as recently as 2009.
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