Petrov confirmed at Renault-Lotus (also: bear deficates in woods)

[Dave B]

Another piece of the jigsaw drops predictably into place with Petrov securing a 2-year deal at whatever Renault-Genii-Lotus-Lada are calling themselves this week.



Although the squad had called for more commitment and consistency from the Russian rookie during the year, in recent months it had become clear that a contract extension for Petrov was the most likely option. Renault had already re-signed Robert Kubica for next season.


http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88745

[maximilian]

Now it has become a long-term waste of a seat considering who else was available, but after the stupid Group"Lotus" deal, I don't really care what happens to this team anymore.

[UltimateDanGTR]

Petrov deserves a secon year, and his contract runs through 2012 which is good.

So..we are left with Force India, Toro Rosso and Hispania seats to be confirmed. (though it's very likely Toro Rosso will have the same line up as 2010 and I also doubt Hispania willl even be on the 2011 grid.....)

[keysersoze]

The pundits will of course be here to slag the guy, and he certainly made his share of rookie mistakes, but considering his experience he wasn't that far off Robert's pace, and his racecraft showed that he isn't here to make up the numbers.

[Dr. Krogshöj]

I think Petrov deserves another chance but so would Hülkenberg. I think Force India will go with Sutil and di Resta so Nico will be left out in the cold. Maybe he should have accepted the long-term Williams deal because either way, the only available seat will be at Hispania!

[I am evil Homer]

Maybe... i'd hope Hulk would be alongside Alguesari at STR as that's a better seat than HRT.

[N. Jones]

I wouldn't mind seeing Hulk at FI with Sutil.
I wonder if HRT is going to sign de la Rosa and a kid. Or would they offer a seat to Heidfeld?

[DazzlaF1]

The pundits will of course be here to slag the guy, and he certainly made his share of rookie mistakes, but considering his experience he wasn't that far off Robert's pace, and his racecraft showed that he isn't here to make up the numbers.

He's a bit jekyll and Hyde is Petrov but you only need to look at his performance in Hungary and how he helped destroy Alonso's title chances by beating him fair and square to see how good he can be.

Thats all he needs now, consistency

[Sonic]

Dazzla, I couldn't have said it better myself. The rookies just aren't given enough time to bed in anymore. Yes he screwed up plenty of times, but when he was on it he looked very impressive considering the total absence of testing.

He deserves a second year but he will now need to up his game.

[Big Ben]

Dazzla, I couldn't have said it better myself. The rookies just aren't given enough time to bed in anymore. Yes he screwed up plenty of times, but when he was on it he looked very impressive considering the total absence of testing.

He deserves a second year but he will now need to up his game.

There no reason to be too proud you couldn´t have said it better there. When people say stupid things like that you would hope that would fall below average but then people start applauding the stupid thing and you realize the problem is the average is pretty low.


He's a bit jekyll and Hyde is Petrov but you only need to look at his performance in Hungary and how he helped destroy Alonso's title chances by beating him fair and square to see how good he can be.

Thats all he needs now, consistency

So you hate Alonso and by chance Petrov finds himself in front of Alonso and he 'beats' him by managing to stay ahead and on track in a pretty good car on the dullest track that looks mostly like a colored park lot and that's great drving :laugh: . But then again what would you say about a guy when his team mate beat the living daylights out of him and even this last 'spectacular' race of his finished quite behind his team mate? that he's staying only because of the cash he brings in? nooo... don't be silly, that can't be it

[Sonic]

There no reason to be too proud you couldn´t have said it better there. When people say stupid things like that you would hope that would fall below average but then people start applauding the stupid thing and you realize the problem is the average is pretty low.



So you hate Alonso and by chance Petrov finds himself in front of Alonso and he 'beats' him by managing to stay ahead and on track in a pretty good car on the dullest track that looks mostly like a colored park lot and that's great drving :laugh: . But then again what would you say about a guy when his team mate beat the living daylights out of him and even this last 'spectacular' race of his finished quite behind his team mate? that he's staying only because of the cash he brings in? nooo... don't be silly, that can't be it

Dude. You've got some serious anger issues. Chill. :)

Peace and love man.

[keysersoze]

T But then again what would you say about a guy when his team mate beat the living daylights out of him and even this last 'spectacular' race of his finished quite behind his team mate? that he's staying only because of the cash he brings in? nooo... don't be silly, that can't be it

In that race Petrov outqualified RK, and when his team put him on the early pit strategy, VP had to make his tires go the distance. Moreover, by having to defend against Alonso, Vitaly eventually lost enough time for Robert to come out two seconds in front, and with fresh tires pulled out about ten seconds.

You comment that he's "staying only because of the cash he brings" is pretty far off the mark and certainly not factual

[DazzlaF1]

Dazzla, I couldn't have said it better myself. The rookies just aren't given enough time to bed in anymore. Yes he screwed up plenty of times, but when he was on it he looked very impressive considering the total absence of testing.

He deserves a second year but he will now need to up his game.

Consistent top 10 finishes now must be the goal for Petrov, he needs to up his game to the extent that Renault can challenge the Merc's for 4th in the constructors.

[ioan]

So you hate Alonso and by chance Petrov finds himself in front of Alonso and he 'beats' him by managing to stay ahead and on track in a pretty good car on the dullest track that looks mostly like a colored park lot and that's great drving :laugh: . But then again what would you say about a guy when his team mate beat the living daylights out of him and even this last 'spectacular' race of his finished quite behind his team mate? that he's staying only because of the cash he brings in? nooo... don't be silly, that can't be it

We all know you love Alonso and hate Petrov, why keep flogging a dead horse?!

BTW, Merry Christmas!

[jens]

I can't say I agree with the sentiments here. A Top5 team is too good for a driver at the level of Petrov. I actually consider him to be among the worst drivers on the current field of F1. And two more years?! Oh well...

An aspiring team close to the top and having no financial issues would have gone for someone like Heidfeld or Kobayashi as first options. In short, a driver, who is capable of making an impact over a full season (not merely 3-4 decent races per season) and collecting lots of points.

By now Renault has for three seasons in a row had a situation, where basically only one driver collects all the points. For how long will this carry on? For that they ought to stop messing with second-rate rookies.

But alas it has to be acknowledged that nowadays money is tight, so that only five (Top4 + Team Lotus!) teams can afford racing without paydrivers. Even midfield teams are struggling, so Petrov, Pérez and Maldonado have all brought 10(+) M $ with them to their respective teams.

[gloomyDAY]

We all know you love Alonso and hate Petrov, why keep flogging a dead horse?!

BTW, Merry Christmas!ioan lecturing someone about beating a dead horse?
Now I've seen everything! I can still hear the words "McLiars and cheaters" bouncing around in my head.

[Big Ben]

We all know you love Alonso and hate Petrov, why keep flogging a dead horse?!

BTW, Merry Christmas!

Thanks. I hope yours was merry too. I'm not that passionate about f1 to say I love the drivers. I have my preferences probably just because it's much more fun than watching races you don't care who wins. Petrov is just too small to have any 'feelings' towards him. If f1 would be more of a sport and less of a business, drivers like KR or the 2 NH would be in and drivers like Petrov would be out.

[Big Ben]

In that race Petrov outqualified RK, and when his team put him on the early pit strategy, VP had to make his tires go the distance. Moreover, by having to defend against Alonso, Vitaly eventually lost enough time for Robert to come out two seconds in front, and with fresh tires pulled out about ten seconds.

You comment that he's "staying only because of the cash he brings" is pretty far off the mark and certainly not factual

Perhaps I've been to focused on the battle at the top of the table. But in my shortsighted approach I've see one Renault driver often interfering in that top battle by getting up there while the other one only interfered when the top drivers dropped by chance at his level. And what are you saying there? That Petrov sacrificed his race just to keep Alonso behind him? if that's the case perhaps LH's statement about RBR's step brothers is more accurate than one would think.

Maybe I watched another race but as far as I can recall FA didn't even come close to making a serious attempt to overtake the Russian. That was the most disappointing part of that race. So am I the only one who didn't see that great defending from the Russion in Abu Dhabibi? After 5 laps I knew that only a car failure could change anything.

[keysersoze]

That Petrov sacrificed his race just to keep Alonso behind him?

It's common racing knowledge that if you are in front of another driver and that driver is on the attack, then you will be slower. Plus, he had over 45 laps on his tires when Robert finally pitted and changed to the options (the quicker tire).

What I'm saying is that if Vitaly would've been on the same strategy as RK he would've beaten him.

In your, as you admit, shortsightedness, you have missed Vitaly's commendable racecraft. He hasn't shown that he could be a future WDC, but he's better than many current F1 drivers with similar experience.

[jens]

but he's better than many current F1 drivers with similar experience.

Can you enlighten? Which ones?

[Big Ben]

It's common racing knowledge that if you are in front of another driver and that driver is on the attack, then you will be slower. Plus, he had over 45 laps on his tires when Robert finally pitted and changed to the options (the quicker tire).

What I'm saying is that if Vitaly would've been on the same strategy as RK he would've beaten him.

In your, as you admit, shortsightedness, you have missed Vitaly's commendable racecraft. He hasn't shown that he could be a future WDC, but he's better than many current F1 drivers with similar experience.

yes... if you actually need to defend ... maybe I wasn't too focused and missed all that late breaking and defending moves that slowed down Petrov.

[DexDexter]

Perhaps I've been to focused on the battle at the top of the table. But in my shortsighted approach I've see one Renault driver often interfering in that top battle by getting up there while the other one only interfered when the top drivers dropped by chance at his level. And what are you saying there? That Petrov sacrificed his race just to keep Alonso behind him? if that's the case perhaps LH's statement about RBR's step brothers is more accurate than one would think.

Maybe I watched another race but as far as I can recall FA didn't even come close to making a serious attempt to overtake the Russian. That was the most disappointing part of that race. So am I the only one who didn't see that great defending from the Russion in Abu Dhabibi? After 5 laps I knew that only a car failure could change anything.

It's pretty evident that the sole reason you don't like Petrov is the fact that he cost your idol the WDC which was great. IMO he just about deserves another chance.

[Robinho]

IMO opinion he just about doesn't deserve another chance, definately not in a seat of the calibre of Renault. It was a one man team this year and i have seen very little to suggest it will be different next year. If anyone deserved more of a chance it was the man Petrov replaced, Grosjean, who was soundly beating him in GP2 and did no worse in his half a season with no prep than Petrov has in a full season with testing. I also think Hulkenburg and Di Resta desevre a crack ahead of Petrov too.

He's not rubbish, by any means, but i think there are those 3 at least who should be ahead in the queue IMO

[jens]

IMO opinion he just about doesn't deserve another chance, definately not in a seat of the calibre of Renault. It was a one man team this year and i have seen very little to suggest it will be different next year. If anyone deserved more of a chance it was the man Petrov replaced, Grosjean, who was soundly beating him in GP2 and did no worse in his half a season with no prep than Petrov has in a full season with testing. I also think Hulkenburg and Di Resta desevre a crack ahead of Petrov too.

He's not rubbish, by any means, but i think there are those 3 at least who should be ahead in the queue IMO

I agree. In terms of "deserving" another chance, he should have gone to Virgin Racing to try to prove himself in a backmarker team against a solid benchmark like Glock. The seat of Renault is not for "training", this should be for producing real results.

Hard to believe that a driver in the calibre of Petrov has locked a seat of a Top5 team basically for at least three years. People tend to complain, how unfair F1 is and how many talented drivers don't get proper chances - well, here you can see, how...

In contrast funny, how people are fed up for instance with someone like Buemi at STR, who hasn't underperformed embarrassingly in the car at this disposal and IIRC has even beaten Petrov a few times this season despite a clearly inferior car.

[Big Ben]

It's pretty evident that the sole reason you don't like Petrov is the fact that he cost your idol the WDC which was great. IMO he just about deserves another chance.

:rolleyes: feeling better now? and I have anger issues :rolleyes:

[Big Ben]

IMO opinion he just about doesn't deserve another chance, definately not in a seat of the calibre of Renault. It was a one man team this year and i have seen very little to suggest it will be different next year. If anyone deserved more of a chance it was the man Petrov replaced, Grosjean, who was soundly beating him in GP2 and did no worse in his half a season with no prep than Petrov has in a full season with testing. I also think Hulkenburg and Di Resta desevre a crack ahead of Petrov too.

He's not rubbish, by any means, but i think there are those 3 at least who should be ahead in the queue IMO

careful there buddy... by the strange logic of some you might end up being a Alonso fanboy if you say something against any driver that finished ahead of the Spaniard at some point. I'm sure you don't want that. Just say he's awesome and leave it.

[jens]

I wanted to add one more thing. People used to complain about the presence of factory teams in F1 and that they don't care about the sport. But I have to say that departure of Renault has paved way to a really blatant business-orientated team - Lotus Renault GP. Bahar ja Lopez keep repeating the "importance of marketing" all the time. And Virgin Racing isn't even interested in succeeding - it's all about "cheap business" for them. At least car manufacturers aimed to succeed and hired people accordingly.

[DexDexter]

:rolleyes: feeling better now? and I have anger issues :rolleyes:

Yep, a little poke at you feels good and since I don't throw any insults at anybody, no harm done, right ;)

[Malbec]

Dazzla, I couldn't have said it better myself. The rookies just aren't given enough time to bed in anymore. Yes he screwed up plenty of times, but when he was on it he looked very impressive considering the total absence of testing.

He deserves a second year but he will now need to up his game.

I don't think Petrov was that impressive at all. After all he was far too inconsistent not only compared to Kubica but also to the other two rookies Hulkenberg and Kobayashi. At some races he was far off Kubica's pace, at others he couldn't keep it on the road. There were only one or two races where he was as quick or quicker than Kubica. I think the fact that people are talking about him in a good light is largely due to his performance at Abu Dhabi where he trailed his teammate yet again but didn't fold under the pressure of having Alonso on his tail.

As others have said Petrov should be either at a real tail end team or out of F1 totally. There are more 'deserving' drivers out there.

It does say something about the size of the Lotus deal that 'Renault' still needs Petrov's Russian money instead of a driver who is more talented but brings less money.

[wattoroos]

the thing i dont get or i dont think i will ever get is why a 2 year deal when they could have had a 1 year deal with a 1 year option he didnt do well enough to deserve two years straight up

[Garry Walker]

I never liked Petrov, but since the last GP of the last year, I have somehow warmed up to him bigtime. I cant quite point out why :D