Senna signs F1 deal with Campos

Rio de Janeiro: Bruno Senna will drive next year for new Formula One team Campos, a racing official said on Thursday.

The 26-year-old nephew of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna finalized a deal to race for the Spanish team last weekend, said the Brazilian racing official, who was involved in negotiations. The official offered no other details and spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss the move, which he said Campos planned to announce following this weekend`s race in Abu Dhabi. After hours calls to Campos` Madrid office were unanswered. Senna said this month while attending the Brazilian Grand Prix that he was negotiating a deal with three teams, including Campos. The deal returns the legendary Senna name to F1 for the first time in 15 years, since Ayrton Senna`s death in a crash at the San Marino GP in 1994. Before his death, Ayrton lauded his then 8-year-old nephew`s driving skills, which he witnessed on the Senna family farm near Sao Paulo. Shortly after Ayrton`s death, Bruno`s father was killed in a motorcycle accident - which combined with Ayrton`s death meant racing was off limits for young Bruno. "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 reporters last year. Senna`s mother, Viviane, refused to let auto racing enter her son`s life for the decade after his father`s death, even if her brother had seen promise in Bruno as he tore around the family farm. 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. In 2005 he was invited to test a Formula 3 car in Valencia, Spain, before eventually competing in the series. Senna jumped to GP2 for 2006. Last year he finished second in driver standings in the F1 feeder series. He then left to focus on finding a seat on the F1 grid. Earlier this year, Senna tested a Brawn GP car, but was passed over for fellow Brazilian Rubens Barichello. Bureau Report