What might be looming for Petrov’s F1 future?

Posted by Mikel on January 27th, 2012 at 11:56am

Vitaly Petrov, a man with no Formula 1 drive but plenty of money, said a few interesting things Wednesday at a Pirelli event in Abu Dhabi.

(Quick digression: It’s hard to feel to sorry for him when he’s doing events in Abu Dhabi. He ain’t in Siberia, is all I’m saying.)

These quotes come via Autosport:

On whether something is on the horizon

“If I say something it will be turned into lots of stories. But please wait a little bit, another week. I want to say something but I can’t say at the moment.”

On the need to stay in F1 in some capacity

“I want to stay in F1 because if I lose one year then it will be very difficult to come back and to take some places for 2013. So it is important to stay.”

On maybe being the test driver for Pirelli

“Today they asked me to come and be part of this event, so I drive some cars, talk to some people and work with them.

“Now in Russia, Pirelli is working quite close and maybe in the future we can do some good deals. So maybe while I will not test Pirelli, maybe we can work together in different parts.”

On why Renault/Lotus dumped him and whether it was because of publicly questioning the team

“I think it was part of it. I think I understand I should not talk about the team like this, but what is done is done and I don’t need to be angry about what happened. Already it is the new year, it is finished so I am fully ready for next year.”

“What is done is done. The team made the decision and I have to accept it, move on and prepare for the next season.”

It sounds from all that like the Pirelli test spot or, perhaps, long-shot, show-me-the-money a drive with Caterham, are what Petrov is after. Does one or the other make more sense? (I.e. should he blow his sponsor money on Caterham rather than work with Pirelli?)

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