Giedo van der Garde is set to return to the track with Caterham during the forthcoming Barcelona tests, reigniting speculation about Jarno Trulli's future with the former Lotus team. After the sponsor-backed Dutch GP2 driver was signed on as 2012 reserve driver, he was also drafted into the Jerez test lineup at short notice, bumping Italian veteran Trulli from Thursday's running. And France's Auto Hebdo quotes the 26-year-old as revealing he expects to return to the wheel soon. "It was not easy for me to […]

Vitaly Petrov's manager on Monday admitted an indecisive sponsor is delaying the Russian driver's plans for 2012. It is rumoured Caterham is contemplating ousting Jarno Trulli, should Renault refugee Petrov's sponsors agree to buy out the Italian veteran's contract. The former Lotus squad on Monday announced its test schedule for Jerez this week, with Heikki Kovalainen driving on the first two days, followed by new Dutch test driver Giedo van der Garde. Trulli is scheduled to drive only on Friday. Oksana Kosachenko, Petrov's manager, told […]

For his re-acquaintance with an F1 car Kimi Raikkonen used a Renault R30, chassis number 3, as used during 2010 pre-season testing by Vitaly Petrov and Robert Kubica. The car was subsequently raced by Robert Kubica from the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix until round thirteen, the Belgian Grand Prix. The R30-03 was also used for the end of season young driver test. Lotus F1 Team engineer Simon Rennie was present in Valencia when Raikkonen was testing the 2010-spec R30 and shares his thoughts from an […]

F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone got involved in Vitaly Petrov's quest to stay on the grid this year, the Russian driver's manager has revealed. We reported recently that, after the 27-year-old lost his Renault (now Lotus) race seat, the sport's 'supremo' Ecclestone became involved in order to keep Petrov on the grid. The 81-year-old Briton has arranged to take his sport to Russia in the near future, while Petrov is supported personally by prime minister Vladimir Putin. "As soon as it became clear that we […]

Adrian Sutil and Vitaly Petrov have emerged as candidates to become Ferrari's official reserve driver in 2012. With Jules Bianchi moving into Force India's Friday practice seat this year, it was reported that Italian GP2 driver Davide Rigon had succeeded him at Ferrari. In fact, the Maranello based team is believed to not consider the 25-year-old as ready to step in should Fernando Alonso or Felipe Massa need replacing during a grand prix weekend. Indeed, Ferrari said Rigon has extended his contract and will be […]

Vitaly Petrov is promising news about his future "very soon". Caterham's Jarno Trulli last week played down rumours the well-sponsored Russian Petrov, a refugee of the former Renault (now Lotus) team, could be set to replace him. "Very soon is all I can say," Petrov answered his Twitter followers when asked when official news about his plans for 2012 can be expected. "My friends, be patient," he added in Russian. Meanwhile, Finland's Turun Sanomat said it has not yet been decided if Trulli or his […]

Vitaly Petrov is in talks about becoming Caterham's third and reserve driver in 2012. Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper reports that the Russian's manager, Oksana Kosachenko, visited the former Team Lotus outfit's Hingham (UK) headquarters last week. 27-year-old Petrov has been dropped by Renault (now Lotus) after his first two seasons in the sport. It has been rumoured that the race seat alongside Heikki Kovalainen at Caterham might be up for grabs for 2012, but Turun Sanomat said it is now likely that Jarno Trulli's contract […]

A cloud still hangs over Jarno Trulli's race seat at Caterham for 2012. In September last year, the Malaysian team - then known as Team Lotus - inked a new contract for the forthcoming season with the 37-year-old Italian. But the media statement referred only to "an agreement to keep Jarno on board", with some pundits immediately noting that it could mean only an ambassadorial role. The provisional entry list for 2012, however, named Trulli as Heikki Kovalainen's continuing teammate. Team owner Tony Fernandes said […]

Jarno Trulli has hit out at the growing influence of so-called 'pay drivers' in Formula 1. It is rumoured that, despite his 2012 contract, the Italian veteran could be ousted by Caterham in favour of the well-backed Renault refugee Vitaly Petrov. Trulli, 37, suggested Renault - becoming Lotus for 2012 - suffered last year as the team collected sponsorship dollars brought by Russian Petrov and Bruno Senna. "Kubica is a great driver who can get the very best from the car," he is quoted by […]

Jos Verstappen has tipped F1 to race on unhindered when a list of midfield drivers does not return in 2012. Writing in his column for De Telegraaf newspaper, the Dutchman admitted that with so many drivers bustling for as little as two unconfirmed race seats, it is "an exciting time" on the newswire. At the same time, drivers apparently at the start of their promising careers, like ousted Toro Rosso pair Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, have lost their seats. "It's hard for them, especially […]

Vitaly Petrov and Giedo van der Garde are the keys to the remaining seats on the 2012 driver market. That is the claim of Finland's Turun Sanomat, revealing that the management of Russian Petrov - ousted by Lotus/Renault - has been in talks with Toro Rosso, Williams, Marussia and HRT. It is believed that, given the fact he had a year to run on his existing contract, Lotus must have had to pay Petrov in full for the 2012 season. On top of that money, […]

Vitaly Petrov's plans for the 2012 season will be announced before the end of December. This is the claim of his manager Oksana Kosachenko, following Lotus' decision to replace the Russian - despite his 2012 contract - with new GP2 champion Romain Grosjean. "First of all, I'd like to thank all our partners and fans for the support Vitaly received during those two seasons," Kosachenko told sportbox.ru. The Ria Novosti news agency claimed Kosachenko bemoaned the "testy relationship" between Petrov and the team in 2011. […]