Vitaly Petrov Replaces Jarno Trulli At Caterham

It has been announced today that Russian Formula 1 driver, Vitaly Petrov, has replaced Jarno Trulli at Caterham. This therefore means there will be no Italian driver on the 2012 F1 grid, the first time this has occurred since 1970.

This has ended several weeks of speculation, where Vitaly Petrov and his manager, Oksana Kosachenko, have been voicing their hopes of making it onto the 2012 grid regularly throughout the winter period.

Vitaly Petrov will team-mate Finnish driver Heikki Kovalainen at Caterham this coming season, with Dutch driver Giedo Van Der Garde continuing his reserve driver duties throughout 2012. This move leaves Jarno Trulli out of Formula 1, with the Italian driver contesting 252 races since his debut at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix with Minardi.

“This is a very exciting day for me.” Explained Vitaly Petrov, “I would like to thank Tony, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin for giving me the chance to join a team that made its F1 debut at the same time as me, and has grown from one of the new teams to a serious force for future honors. The passion and spirit that Tony and the whole team have to keep moving forwards is infectious, and I am honored to be able to join them and play my part in helping the team mount a serious challenge to the teams ahead in 2012 and for many seasons to come. 

“I have been training hard all winter and am ready to get back into the cockpit and go to work.” Continued the Russian, “From what I have seen already, our new car is another good step forward from 2011 and now I cannot wait to see how it feels when we get to Barcelona. I would also like to take this chance to thank all my fans and partners for their support and their patience.”

Vitaly Petrov made his debut at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix for Renault, and last season headed the team with the vacancy of Robert Kubica after his injury. He scored his first, and as of yet only, podium last season in Australia finishing 3rd. For 2012, he and Bruno Senna were replaced at the rebranded team by returning World Champion Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean.

At one stage it looked as though Petrov would miss out on an opportunity to race in 2012. However after a lengthy wait for sponsors, Petrov has finally secured a drive for the coming season, at the expense of the only Italian driver remaining on the Formula 1 grid.

“I want to take this chance to thank Tony, Kamarudin, SM Nasarudin, Riad, Mike and everyone in the team for the two seasons we had together.” Said Jarno Trulli, “From zero we built up and established a solid F1 team. I’m really proud to have been part of it. I understand the decision the team has made and I want to wish to the whole team the very best of luck for the season ahead.”

Vitaly Petrov will get his first taste of the Caterham CT01 at Barcelona next week, as the second pre-season test gets underway at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Picture Copyright © Caterham F1