F1: Petrov to join Caterham
Trulli out as Russian buys a seat with the former Lotus team in time for AGPRussian Vitaly Petrov’s moneybags have bought him a Formula One drive with the Caterham team, previously Lotus (the name now used by the former Renault team).
Petrov’s gain is Jarno Trulli’s loss and means there will be no Italian-born driver at the first Grand Prix of the year, in Melbourne on March 18, for the first time since 1970.
Western Australia’s 22-year-old Toro Rosso driver Daniel Ricciardo was born in Perth but is of Sicilian heritage and has Australian and Italian passports, so he may become a flagbearer for Italian fans – although primarily they will cheer for Ferrari.
Petrov, 27, spent two years racing for Renault in F1 and, while it was his financial backing that got him the Caterham drive, he was a podium finisher in Melbourne last year.
Trulli’s only victory in 256 GPs was at Monaco in 2004, when he led from start to finish in Renault, and he was philosophical about losing his place.
However, Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, without an F1 drive after 19 years and set to take up an IndyCar offer with PV Racing, tweeted: “Sad to see Trulli won’t be on the 2012 grid … money is dominating everything.”
While Italy is without an F1 driver now, France – which has not had a representative in recent times – now has three: the returning Romain Grosjean at Lotus (nee Renault), Ricciardo’s rookie teammate Jean-Eric Vergne, and another rookie, Charles Pic, at Marussia (nee Virgin).
2012 F1 line-up
Red Bull-Renault – Sebastian Vettel (Germany), Mark Webber (Australia).
McLaren-Mercedes – Jenson Button (Great Britain), Lewis Hamilton (GB).
Ferrari – Fernando Alonso (Spain), Felipe Massa (Brazil).
Mercedes – Nico Rosberg (Germany), Michael Schumacher (Germany).
Lotus-Renault – Kimi Raikkonen (Finland), Romain Grosjean (France).
Force India-Mercedes – Paul Di Resta (GB), Nico Hulkenberg (Germany).
Sauber-Ferrari – Kamui Kobayashi (Japan), Sergio Perez (Mexico).
Toro Rosso-Ferrari – Daniel Ricciardo (Australia), Jean-Eric Vergne (France).
Williams-Renault – Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela), Bruno Senna (Brazil).
Caterham-Cosworth – Heikki Kovalainen (Finland), Jarno Trulli (Italy).
HRT-Cosworth – Pedro de la Rosa (Spain), Narain Karthikeyan (India).
Marussia-Cosworth (formerly Virgin) – Timo Glock (Germany), Charles Pic (France).
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