Like Robert Kubica, Sutil publicly stated that he wants to drive a car that can offer him the opportunity to score podiums and even race wins in the future. Before signing his 2-year extension with Renault, the Polish driver told the media that he would stay with the French team only if it would secure him a title winning car in 2 years time.
Given the much-discussed possibility of Renault F1 inking a deal with Mastercard, it's quite clear that Boullier is doing everything in his power to secure the financial backing of such a title-winning project. And that's probably why Kubica has committed to stay at Enstone until the end of 2012. Looking at this from the outside, Sutil's eyes seem to have lit up at the prospect of joining Kubica for the next season.
“Renault for me would be more than just an alternative,” the 27-year old German was quoted as saying by Germany's Sport Bild.
The Mastercard deal for Renault would mean that they can look at the perspectives for the 2011 Formula One season without the fear of losing Russian sponsor Lada. As already known by now, the Russian carmaker agreed to sponsor the Enstone organization as part of a governmental support for Vitaly Petrov. Once (or if) Petrov will be ousted, Lada will consequently leave with him.
The Russian rookie proved several times this season that he is indeed F1 material, but his performances in terms of points scored for the team have been quite disappointing. Before signing the Renault deal, some rumors suggested that Petrov was asked to score half the points of Kubica by mid-season 2010, whereas the current situation sees the Russian trailing his teammate by 77 points.
Sutil is however not the only driver linked with a Renault seat, as Boullier is currently looking at opportunities to sign Timo Glock, Nick Heidfeld (with whom Kubica has been teammate at BMW Sauber) and even Kimi Raikkonen. This last possibility is however improbable, as the Finn is known to ask for an impressive amount of money for an F1 deal.
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