Vitaly Petrov in search of a sponsor
Suspended at the end of last year by the former Lotus Renault GP team in favor of Kimi Räikkönen, Vitaly Petrov still hopes to actively participate in the 2012 championship, which will soon begin. For this, the Russian driver is patiently waiting for a sponsor.
Like many drivers left without a seat this season by their team, Vitaly Petrov is still hoping for the timely arrival of a potential sponsor that could allow him to secure a seat for the upcoming championship. Even though a return of the Russian to Formula 1 by March 18th seems impossible, rumors suggest that he could take Jarno Trulli’s place at Caterham.
Furthermore, the Russian Grand Prix is only scheduled for 2014, which would give Petrov 2 years to wait.
According to his agent Oksana Kossatchenko, nothing can progress without the arrival of a partner: « Of course, Vitaly is uncomfortable in this situation, as we expected sponsors to be a bit more forthcoming. But without their decisions, we cannot plan anything for the future. However, Vitaly remains ready to seize any opportunity that allows him to get into a car and achieve a good result. »
Moreover, the last available seat in Formula 1 was recently awarded to Narain Karthikeyan on behalf of HRT, which doesn’t help the 27-year-old driver’s situation. He and his agent are still on the lookout for any possibilities: « For now, we have a few leads, but we are focusing more on finding new options. If these do not materialize in the coming days, then we will turn to other series. We will probably contact Pirelli, with whom we have not yet discussed », concluded Oksana Kossatchenko, suggesting the possibility of a test driver position with the sole manufacturer in Formula 1, which remains surely the most plausible scenario for the former Renault driver.
