Rookies Senna and Hulkenberg join the grid for 2010

Bruno Senna will drive for the Campos Meta team in 2010, having signed a two-year deal with the Spanish outfit. He is the first driver to have been named by any of the four new teams due to enter Formula 1 next season.

The 26-year-old (pictured on the left) is the nephew of F1 legend Ayrton Senna. He was runner-up in the 2008 GP2 Series but his hopes of landing a drive with Honda/Brawn for this year were eventually dashed, despite impressing the team in testing. He was instead restricted to the occasional sports car outing.

Campos is still hoping to hire countryman Pedro de la Rosa, but may instead have to take a second rookie who can bring finance. GP2 regulars Vitaly Petrov and Pastor Maldonado, both of whom have strong support, are in discussion with the team.

Campos will use a car built in Italy by Dallara, whose last involvement with F1 was with Midland/Spyker. Its commercial activities are being led by former Ferrari team manager Daniele Audetto.

Meanwhile as expected the man who kept Senna out of Brawn, Rubens Barrichello, will drive for Williams in 2010. The veteran opted some time ago to join Williams rather than await developments at Brawn. He will pass the 300-start mark in the course of next season.

He will be partnered in the Grove team by promoted third driver Nico Hulkenberg (pictured on the right), a protégé of Michael Schumacher’s manager, Willi Weber. Hulkenberg’s stellar CV includes titles in A1GP (for the German team), the F3 Euroseries and GP2.