Renault to make Petrov decision soon
Renault F1 team owner Gerard Lopez admits that the team are still unsure if Vitaly Petrov will partner Robert Kubica next season.
The Russian driver is under pressure after a mediocre first season in the sport Kubica was surpassing all expectations in the second Renault.
It has long been speculated that Petrov - who scored points in only four races - would remain at the team because of the Russian investment money that he brings to the team, but this may not be enough to save his place as Renault look to build on Kubica's success.
"It's not done yet," Lopez told ESPN of Petrov's position.
"As far as Vitaly goes, as much as we have been happy during the course of the season, we obviously were a little bit disappointed with the results coming towards the end of the season. I think the Abu Dhabi drive did a lot to reposition him where we think he is and people tend to forget that he is an amazingly good rookie driver.
"The one criticism we had of him and still have, to some extent, is not his pure speed but his ability to put together a whole weekend in a very focused and concentrated way; if anything in Abu Dhabi he showed that, if he wants to, he can.
"There is no reason why Vitaly can't be a top five or six driver throughout his career but we haven't made a final decision. Abu Dhabi did a lot for us to reconsider his position and we'd like to be able to sign him up, but he's been away so we have to sit down with him, look him in the eyes and see if he can do what he did in Abu Dhabi during the race throughout the season during practice, qualifying and the race," he added.
For his part, Kubica admits that an experienced driver would aid Renault in their bid to surpass Mercedes in the Constructors' race.
"This is a difficult subject to get right," Kubica explained to formule1.nl.
"Of course the team would benefit more from a more experienced driver. A rookie provides fewer points, but that makes sense. "
"As a rookie, you learn a lot and Formula 1 is not as easy as it seems. Many GP2 drivers who make the move, saying after the first test: Oh, that's easy, it's like GP2. But if they then struggle to perform, that it is not as simple as thought. That said, there are also examples of newcomers who from the first time have performed great."
"As for my team-mate for next year, the team provides a better overview of what they want. They can better judge what they want and in whatever position they find themselves.
"All I can say is that we have lost many points this season. Under other circumstances, we could have challenged Mercedes more. But on the other hand, you should also look into the circumstances that the team was in at the beginning of the year. You must respect the decision the owners made and I think they made the right choice," he added.
Credit: PlanetF1.com (www.planetf1.com)
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