Senna Tribute - Montezemolo

Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo believes Ayrton Senna would have finished his Formula 1 career at Maranello had the Brazilian not been killed in the 1994 San Marino GP.

With the Formula 1 community preparing to mark the 20th anniversary of the three-times World Champion's death on Thursday, Montezemolo has added to the many fascinating 'what if' theories surrounding Senna by revealing that the pair had talked in the build-up to the Imola weekend about the possibility of the 34-year-old switching to Maranello in future.

After enjoying huge success over a seven-year stint at McLaren, Senna had joined reigning World Champions Williams for 1994, while Ferrari were already 15 years into their long Drivers' Championship drought. Two years later the Scuderia signed Michael Schumacher, the sport's newly-crowned double World Champion, to spearhead their return to glory, with the title finally returning to Ferrari in 2000.

"He wanted to come to Ferrari and I wanted him in the team," Montezemolo said in a tribute to Senna posted on Ferrari's website.

"When he was in Italy for the San Marino Grand Prix, we met at my home in Bologna on Wednesday 27 April. He told me he really appreciated the stand we had taken against the excessive use of electronic aids for driving, which didn't allow a driver's skill to shine through.

"We spoke for a long time and he made it clear to me that he wanted to end his career at Ferrari, having come close to joining us a few years earlier. We agreed to meet again soon, so as to look at how we could overcome his contractual obligations at the time. We were both in agreement that Ferrari would be the ideal place for him to further his career, which to date had been brilliant, even unique. Unfortunately, fate robbed all of us of Ayrton and Roland Ratzenberger over one of the saddest weekends in Formula 1 history."

Although never getting the chance to work directly with the great Brazilian, Montezemolo revealed he was a fan of both Senna the driver and the man.

"Of Senna, I remember his kindness and his simple almost shy nature, which was in complete contrast to Senna the driver, a fighter always aiming for the best," the Italian, who became Ferrari President in 1991, explained.

"I always appreciated Ayrton's style of racing. As with all great champions, he had an incredible will to win and never tired of seeking perfection, trying to improve all the time. He was extraordinary in qualifying, but also a great battler in the races, when he always fought tooth and nail."

Ferrari's 2014 driver line-up of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen are attending Thursday's Senna memorial service at Imola as the circuit holds a four-day tribute event for fans.

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Williams Maldonado Wins Catalunya

Pastor Maldonado has claimed victory in Spain, rebuffing home favourite Fernando Alonso to secure Williams' first victory since 2004 and the first for a Venezuelan in F1's long history.

Maldonado has been regularly derided as a 'pay driver' since his entry into the elite of motor-racing but around the Circuit da Catalunya it was a demonstration of excellence which paid dividends as he defied Alonso to become the fifth victor in five races. 2012 is the year that just keeps on giving.

The novelty of his position was never apparent as Maldonado, true to his eerie calmness after inheriting pole position on Saturday night in the wake of Lewis Hamilton's demotion, kept his cool under intense pressure from Alonso in the closing stages.

Although the race never quite crackled with the barmy drama that has characterised the season so far, it remained a compelling and unpredictable spectacle throughout. So much for the theory that the familiarity of Barcelona would finally restore order to a campaign of chaos. How it can have done after a day when Williams, one year on from the worst campaign in their history, lapped a Red Bull and McLaren were left trailing by in excess of a minute?

Although pre-race wisdom had insisted that neither Maldonado nor Alonso would be able to retain their frontrunning positions, it was almost instantly evident that the Williams and Ferrari - at least in the hands of their lead drivers - were the fastest packages on view as the pair exclusively jousted for the lead from first corner to last.

Kimi Raikkonen's late charge saw him close to within three seconds of Alonso at the chequered flag but the Finn's subdued post-race demeanour told a telling story. On a track that was billed as providing the ultimate acid test to determine the season's pecking order, Williams and Ferrari - in a throwback to the early years of the century - held a clear advantage.

It might have been different had the Lotus elected the hard tyres rather than the softs at the first round of pit-stops or if Hamilton - outstanding in his defeat of Jenson Button for eighth place having started out from the back of the grid, fourteen places adrift of his McLaren team-mate - had not been fatally undermined by his team's latest misfortune, but it would be crass to suggest that Maldonado's victory was anything other than deserved. Or impressive.

Only once did the team buckle, when a sticky left-wheel nut - F1's version of an Achilles Heel this year, it would seem - at Maldonado's third and final stop saw his advantage halved, but otherwise theirs was a faultless performance. And against Alonso, whose excellence has been a rare model of consistency this year, it needed to be.

Having muscled his way into the lead past the Williams in heart-stopping fashion at the first corner, only the combination of a daringly-early stop from the Grove outfit, a delay behind the Marussia of Charles Pic and the fastest lap of the race from an inspired Maldonado, saw Alonso surrender the initiative. From then on, it was just a question of whether Maldonado could handle the pressure.

Yet he didn't put a wheel off line. Rarely can have a victory resulted in such a feast gluttonous feast of word-eating.

For the Williams team itself, it was a triumph which marked the end of a dark decline into the doldrums. "There have been many great reliefs of great cities in history at the last minute," reflected Sir Frank Williams. "And this was another of them. We really needed this win."

Behind Raikkonen and the relatively-anonymous Romain Grosjean, Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi drove a typically-barnstorming race to fifth, while Sebastian Vettel, unhinged by a drive-through penalty for failing to slow whilst travelling past yellow flag and a problem with his RB8's front wing, clambered back into sixth courtesy of a late push past the two-stopping Hamilton and a innocuous Nico Rosberg.

On, then, to Monaco. With five races run and a quarter of the season elapsed, that's about the only certainty that can be attached to a season that remains an enigma wrapped inside a puzzle driven by a Pirelli.

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Williams Partner with Johnson

Williams F1 is delighted to announce a new sponsorship agreement between the team and Michael Johnson Performance Inc, a company founded by Olympic gold medalist and world record holder, Michael Johnson. MJP focuses on training top level athletes in all sports, and this new partnership will enable the Williams F1 Team to ensure every aspect of its performance is at the highest level.

During his illustrious athletics career Michael Johnson broke world records in the 200 metres, 400 metres and 4x400 metres relay, becoming known as the fastest man in the world when he completed the historic 200 and 400 metre Olympic double in 1996. The MJP Center was opened by Michael Johnson in 2007 to train youth and professional athletes in all categories of sports. The center’s focus is on building athletes’ speed, agility, strength and stamina in order to develop an improved athletic performance by following the same training philosophy and methods Michael Johnson used to win his four Olympic and nine World Championship gold medals on the track. The partnership with Williams F1 will bring these world class expertise and training principles to areas of the Williams F1 Team as it focuses on improving all aspects of its performance for the coming season.

The partnership will see the MJP logo displayed on the sleeves of driver and team overalls, personnel uniform and across the team. MJP will also provide an intensive training programme for the team’s pit crew personnel as well as conducting an evaluation of the team’s training regime.

On the new agreement, Frank Williams, Team Principal of the Williams F1 Team said, “I had the privilege of first meeting Michael at the Belgian Grand Prix in the late 1990s. I have always admired the dedication required to be an Olympic Champion. The attention to detail and the commitment required is what sets these extraordinary individuals apart from the rest of us. When Michael and I met again recently he explained how he had established a company that specialized in improving athletic performance. I was extremely keen to learn how he could help our team as there seemed to be a lot of areas of common interest. Michael’s sporting achievements speak for themselves, and the principles he used to become the fastest man in the world are certainly transferable into our own hugely competitive field. Formula One is about all aspects of the race. We all know how crucial the brief time the car spends in the pits can be, and so it will be exciting to see how Michael and his team can help give us the edge in this respect. We’re all really looking forward to working with them over the coming years.”

Michael Johnson added, “Everyone at Michael Johnson Performance is excited about our partnership with the Williams F1 Team. Williams is known around the world as one of the most successful teams in the history of Formula One and has achieved great success over the years and we look forward to helping them continue that winning tradition. I have been a huge Formula One fan since I first attended the Grand Prix at Spa in 1990 where I had the great privilege of meeting Sir Frank Williams. I am confident that the experience and biomechanics expertise of the MJP staff that has benefitted numerous American football athletes, Premier League football teams, and Olympic federations, can also benefit the Williams F1 Team pit crew in their goal to cut hundredths and even tenths of a second from their pit stop times.”

Senna Signs for Williams

Brazilian Bruno Senna has signed to drive for Williams in 2012.

The move means the 28-year-old is joining the team for which his uncle Ayrton Senna was driving when he was killed in 1994.

He was preferred to veteran countryman Rubens Barrichello for the position and will partner Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado.

Senna impressed sporadically after being drafted in by the Renault team in the final races of last season.

His only other experience of F1 is spending the 2010 season with the struggling HRT team.

"I feel very privileged Williams has selected me as one of their race drivers," said Senna, who will make his debut for Williams in Jerez, Spain on 9 February in the first of the team's winter tests.

"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 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."

Barrichello, who will be 40 this year, had been hoping to extend his F1 career into a 20th season but Williams preferred to go for the promise and potential of Senna rather than Barrichello's proven pace and experience.

There was support among some sections of the Williams team for Barrichello keeping the drive, on the basis that he is a proven talent and because of his renowned technical expertise.

Williams had the worst season in their history in 2011 and are in the middle of a rebuilding process, with a new technical director, chief aerodynamicist and chief engineer, and some in the team felt they could benefit from the continuity and experience Barrichello would have brought.

However, sources close to Williams say the relationship between driver and management soured as a result of the slide in the team's results.

Team owner Frank Williams said: "The circumstances of Bruno's two seasons in Formula One have not given him an ideal opportunity to deliver consistently.

"So it was essential 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."

The only remaining free seat in F1 for 2012 is the second HRT alongside veteran Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa.

But Barrichello is considered unlikely to want to drive for the back-of-the-grid Spanish team.

Veteran Italian Jarno Trulli's tenure at Caterham - who raced as Lotus last year - is also believed to be insecure, but Russian Vitaly Petrov, who drove for Renault in 2010 and 2011, is tipped to get that seat.