Bruno Senna gets Lotus Renault drive

"Lotus Renault GP can confirm that Bruno Senna has been nominated to race alongside Vitaly Petrov at this weekend's Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps, and at the Italian GP two weeks later."

And thus, with a bold statement, one of the most famous names in motor racing returns to one of the most iconic liveries of all time: a Senna in a black and gold Lotus.

Lotus Renault GP has confirmed that its German driver Nick Heidfeld will stand down this weekend at Spa and in two weeks time at Monza, to be replaced by test driver Bruno Senna, a man who has been waiting in the wings since 2010. In fact, LR said "the team's present intention is to give Bruno the opportunity to race for the rest of the season".

Gallery: Ayrton Senna

Bruno, who as you should already know is Ayrton Senna's nephew, signed with Lotus Renault GP in February this year. He said: "I am both excited and nervous - it feels like Christmas and my toughest exam have both arrived on the same day".

Lotus Renault declined to give TopGear.com a comment when pushed on why Nick Heidfeld - who has outscored Petrov so far this season - was asked to stand aside for Senna, but they did confirm Nick remains "contracted to the team".

Eric Boullier, Lotus Renault GP principal, said: "We're happy to provide Bruno with the chance to begin racing with us, starting at Spa this weekend. We are confident he'll demonstrate his ability alongside Vitaly."

We'll report back as soon as we hear more. LR did say "some legal issues have not been fully resolved and as a result, the team will make another announcement on this matter in due course."

Despite the legal wrangling, isn't a little part of you excited about a Senna in a Lotus? Even Ayrton noted: "If you think I'm good, wait until you see my nephew Bruno".

And although Ayrton never won a championship in a Lotus - that happened later with McLaren - he did take seven poles in his first season and even won at a rain-sodden Spa. Yes, Bruno had a non-scoring F1 start as a rookie with HRT last year, but in a half-decent car, who knows...

What does the future hold for Mr Heidfeld - or ‘Mr Dependable' - and what will happen to the team when Kubica returns?

In the meantime, click here to see what happened when he drove at Spa the last time. One-handed...