Terrific qualifying lap underlines rising Brazilian star’s affinity for street circuits

Bruno Senna will start the first of this weekend’s Monaco GP2 Series races from the front row of the grid after a stellar performance in yesterday afternoon’s hectic 30-minute qualifying session. The 24-year-old posted a 1m 21.235s lap as he fought to find clear space on the season’s most congested – and least forgiving – circuit. The session was constantly interrupted by yellow flags (and even, briefly, by a red) as several drivers came to grief, but Senna kept his composure and ended the day only 0.178s adrift of pole position winner Pastor Maldonado, who dominated last year’s Monaco GP2 event.

Bruno Senna“That was a tough session, but I’m really pleased with the outcome. I only managed one properly clear lap – and I don’t think it revealed my full potential. I was definitely on course to set a faster lap when I put on my second set of new tyres, but I encountered too much traffic in the final part of the circuit. I honestly believe I could have taken pole position today, but I’m not going to complain.

“It feels great to be starting at the front of the grid, with a clear view ahead of me, and I have to thank the team for doing such a good job with the car. It was absolutely fantastic to drive – it was nice and consistent and I felt really comfortable. I’m confident we have a really good package for the race. In the past I have heard people question my ability to deal with street circuits – I hope this puts that myth to rest.”