Yamamoto doesnt have either manuracturer backing nor personal sponsors.

It's not 90s, I don't think there's any Japanese companies supporting forgettable drivers like Yamamoto.

I'm so puzzled. Was puzzled when he got seat at Spyker at 07, even more so now.

Back in '07 our F1 commentators were saying something about Yamamoto's budget coming from his family owning hospitals, although how true that piece of information is I'm not sure.

Replacing Senna for friday makes sense. Hope that's the case.

Ugh...This seems to have been done in an extremely tacky manner...

Senna was the only bit of cachet this team had...

Time to start rooting against HRT...

But it's not.
Or Bruno's sponsors haven't payed in time or Sakon's outbid them.

BBC F1 site says Senna replaced but nothing yet on Autosport.... sense of confusion in the media?

According to the BBC's Formula1 page, Senna is axed for the British GP only.
A decision about who will drive for Hispania for the rest of the season "will be taken over the week-end"

If we found out before him, that is really cruel. Lets hope that another team pick him up as HRT obviously don't deserve him.

Not looking too good: http://twitter.com/EliGP/status/18057470716

Oh no...poor Bruno, what a shame.

Probably due to non-payment of sponsorship money. It's not as if Chandhok was outperforming him or as if somebody like Yamamoto will do any better.

On Autosport now: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/85082

Whater it is, it will be about money. Maybe Senna's sponsors failed to fulfil their part of the contract and HRT were being told "It will be in your bank today", and it wasn't so Senna isn't, driving that is.

Time for someone to start a Chandhok v Yamamoto thread.............

I knew Sakon would come back

How disappointing. This could represent the end of Sennas career already.

To drop him so close to the race weekend and at this stage of the season, for potentially one race, is nonsensical. It can only be money-related.

Yamamoto is going to be so unbelievably slow.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I would expect him to be within a second of Chandhok.

I bet he could beat Milka Duno.

Is it some sort of publicity stunt? Yamamoto?? and 2 days from the race?

boooo!!!

Obviously some developments must have occured recently for HRT to make such a decision so late.

+1

boooo!!!

+2

If you look at Sennas Twitter feed, it's clear that even he didn't know about the decision only two hours ago. It's very last-minute.

Yamamoto... I mean what the hell does he have for business in Formula One? Christ, tell me.

They used Sennas imagem when they had nothing in beggining of the year. They milked two brazilian sponsors from his image... They extracted every last drop in PR before this weekend and now they drop him! What a farse of a team. That really is a knife buried on the back of Bruno. F1 business on its worse moments... I can just hope this crap team doesnt make to the end of the season

Before everyone starts booing (okay, too late) why don't we all speculate on why they are replacing Senna? Surely it has to be money - this is a team that barely made it to the grid let's not forget. I have doubts that this will will survive the whole season.

@berto

So what? If the team needs money to survive can you blame them? So what if Senna gets replaced, better that than many more people being unemployed. If Yamamoto will prolong Hispania's involvement in F1 so be it. And besides, if Senna's sponsors broke something in a contract then they have every right to remove Senna.

I noticed that too, its very poor of HRT to let it play out this way.

A real shame for Senna. Yamamto will not make any kind of impression.

I wonder if they exit of ART means HRT will manage to get hold of this year's absent Toyota chassis for next year?

If they didnt have the money for the weekend they should have told him! As well as breach on conracts by his sponsors! And why Kolles is lying it "isnt about the money"?

The honest fair thing would be to tell him in advance. Come on! he is made to look like a fool, giving names to his engine for the race, visitng cosworth factory, running on the track and studying setups for the race.. and now this knife onhis back! dirty and silence... disgusting!!

That we can agree on. In the end it's hard for everyone though.

bad karma for HRT. The reasoning may be jusified but this late before a race weekend is quite frankly disgusting

Booo! +4

This team looks more and more clownish instead of better. Hope they fade into oblivion in the coming weeks.

Hiring a driver of Sakon's sort means that they literally have no money. If we take into account that we are only half way through the season, they will have great difficulties to complete this season not even speaking about making it into the next one.

Go away HRT. Make place for some serious team.

Nobody's going to make an impression in a Hispania at the moment

booo! +8

It will not make much differences, isn't it? If it does then we know for sure if it is good or for bad. More off pace then Sakon out, if not, sorry Bruno. But the chances are...

Slowest car on the grid and people are saying Yama wont make any impression...no sh!t sherlock, neither did Bruno.

I think it only can be about money. Senna´s sponsors did´nt pay, maybe believing that Kolles would not dump him, but he did. If this is correct, then Senna´s manager will learn not to play hard ball with Kolles.

Bjørn

Couldnt have anything to do with Bruno driving a McLaren at goodwood could it? (Im sure they would have agreed to let him beforehand though)

ps. Kolles would dump his own mother if she didn't pay him, so I doubt they would have 'tried him' on that one. hes proven he doesnt hesitate to hit the eject button.

HRT must really be in trouble if they need Yamamoto. I think their days on the F1 grid are numbered.

If Yamamoto bins it on the first lap on Sunday I'm going to be laughing my ass off.

I don't think they will make it to the end of the season...

If they have had to do this already. Surely about money, I can't think of any other good reason

Karun drove a Williams and he seems safe!

Really unfair way to handle this situation, I did semi-like HRT for their drivers and that they actual made the grid after such a chaotic lead up, but this is disgraceful.

I hope what I heard about Carabonte's assets being frozen is true and this team get's off the grid asap. This is a J-O-K-E. Please leave HRT, just go...

I agree.

Doing this at such a short notice and for an unremarkable driver like Yamamoto (Who here really expected him of all people to race in F1 again?) implies to me that this team is likely going to fold at the end of the season if not before.

A bit of a PR disaster.

I thought if any driver was to replace a driver in HRT it would be Christian Klien but he probably turned it down. Hes better than that.

The sooner this team is disappears the better...
Just confirms that Kolles is total creep, and that this team is both desperate and sleazy...