Who should Renault sign for 2011? (Poll)
With the top seats at Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes already taken for 2011, the most coveted place left to fill on next year’s grid is the second Renault alongside Robert Kubica.
The team have been clear about their expectations for Vitaly Petrov, who had a mixed weekend in Spa with a points finish despite a crash in qualifying.
Has he done enough to keep his place in the team – or should Renault look elsewhere for a 2011 driver?
The disappearance of BMW and Toyota at the end of last season left some big-name drivers in small teams this year, including the likes of Jarno Trulli (Lotus) and Timo Glock (Virgin).
Unsurprisingly there have already been rumours one of these drivers might move to the increasingly competitive Renault next year as the team enjoy a resurgence in form.
Then there are the newer drivers who have come into the sport recently such as Kamui Kobayashi, Bruno Senna, Lucas di Grassi. Have any of these done enough to merit a drive with what could be a race-winning car next year?
And what of Kubica’s former BMW team mate Nick Heidfeld? His time spent tyre testing for Pirelli will surely make him an attractive pick for the team, along with his decade of F1 race experience.
It’s not easy being an F1 rookie these days as testing opportunities are so limited. Petrov’s best chance of keeping his seat is if he keeps bringing the car home in the points, potentially helping Renault beat Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.
Should they keep their faith in him for next year, or look elsewhere? Should they look beyond the pool of current F1 drivers? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Who should get the second Renault seat in 2011?
- Adrian Sutil (18%)
- Jarno Trulli (1%)
- Heikki Kovalainen (7%)
- Timo Glock (7%)
- Pedro de la Rosa (1%)
- Vitantonio Liuzzi (0%)
- Rubens Barrichello (3%)
- Vitaly Petrov (25%)
- Nico Hülkenberg (1%)
- Bruno Senna (6%)
- Karun Chandhok (4%)
- Sakon Yamamoto (1%)
- Lucas di Grassi (1%)
- Nick Heidfeld (17%)
- Someone else (8%)
Total Voters: 2,739
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Image (C) Renault/LAT
Electrolite said on 4th September 2010, 19:08
Stick with Vitaly! Sure he still makes mistakes and still struggling with qualifying (of which he has improved immensely)
…but Renault have clearly been on the up since the start of the season. And they can only keep on going up – financially it would be suggestable they should stick with these two.
Renaultboy said on 5th September 2010, 14:23
Mercato is over, Petrov will stay in his seat.
BliNnk said on 5th September 2010, 15:27
It should be Glock. He showed a hell of a lot of potential in the Toyota.
Sutil is 2nd choice.
Renault need a solid driver to push Kubica. I feel kubica could’ve done even better this year had he had better competition from his team mate.
Or maybe he performs best with less pressure.
Aaron said on 5th September 2010, 23:18
Jerome D’Ambrosio
tilarama said on 6th September 2010, 3:54
i wanna see rubens in competitive car again
Jbags said on 6th September 2010, 4:16
Why is Kobayashi not in the poll list?
And who voted for Yamamoto, he doesn’t even deserve his HRT seat!
Ronman said on 6th September 2010, 10:31
I think Vitaly is doing very well for a pay driver, but if they wanted to change, i sure hope they put Brunno in the seat…
Keamo said on 6th September 2010, 15:44
I think they should keep Petrov, but if they are really set on getting someone with experience, Heidfeld would be the best choice.
Esteban said on 7th September 2010, 1:27
No doubt: Di Grassi.It seems that many do not see that with a car has always lagged, he is fighting hard with the experienced team mate and is undoubtedly the best of the newcomers. No surprise there, indeed, and if not for money or other political support, this would be his place at Renault since 2009.
For the record: In 2008, Di Grassi was a teammate of Petrov in GP2. Di Grassi premiered only in stage 7. The Russian played all season.
Yet Di Grassi has 63 points. Petrov was 39.
Another who was brutally beaten by the Brazilian was Buemi, who played half a season in 2007.
Di Grassi has 77 points. Buemi only 6 (amazing 13 times more points for the Brazilian)
The result shows how stupid is most of the current F1 fan. Di Grassi, with all these numbers is one of the last placed.
Bruno Senna, who has always been much lower than Di Grassi, has more than 100 votes.
Amazing how the name makes difference, no?
Sutil.M said on 7th September 2010, 18:47
Hulkenburg or Trulli would be good but i think hulkenburg may not go it would be nice to see trulli there since hes not really releasing his full potential at LOTUS it would be nice for him to get up into the big teams again.
nal said on 8th September 2010, 8:22
jarno and heikki already have a contract with lotus until 2012…i love to see nick heidfeld return back to the racing