MADRID, Spain -- He has the looks, the attitude and the name. Most importantly, Bruno Senna appears to have the talent.
The nephew of the late Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna is on the verge of returning the family's iconic name to the circuit's starting grid for the first time since his uncle was killed in an accident 14 years ago.
But Bruno Senna's chosen career path hasn't come easy, especially after his father was killed in a motorcycle accident not long after his uncle's fatal crash at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.
"It was kind of a taboo. I just had to respect the pain and the family, I just had to cope with it," Senna told the Associated Press trackside at this month's German Grand Prix.
Senna's mother, Viviane, coped by refusing to let auto racing enter her son's life for the next decade, even if her brother had seen promise in his 8-year-old nephew on the family farm near Sao Paulo, Brazil.
But when his mother asked him what he wanted to do with his life -- he was 18 and working at a car dealership to stay close to wheels -- the answer was simple, he wanted to race.
"She wasn't expecting that," Senna said. "It was more surprising than about getting mad over it for her."
Though she didn't get mad, she didn't immediately acquiesce, either.
"(I was) totally surprised because he had never said this before," she said. "I made him wait two years to be sure that it was not just a (daydream)."
Senna drove karts during that time, breaking six ribs in the process. The dedication was there, even in a vehicle that barely contained his 5-foot-9 frame.
Everything changed in 2005 when his mother brought an old green and yellow helmet of Ayrton's to Gerhard Berger, a former F1 driver and the Toro Rosso owner. She also showed Berger some pictures of Bruno, and soon he was invited to test a Formula 3 car in Valencia, Spain, before eventually competing in the series.
After two years, Senna jumped to GP2 for 2006 and is now second in the F1 feeder series, 15 points behind Giorgio Pantano in his iSport car.
But with a lot more attention.
