Petrov Will Be the First to Test New Renault R31

Vitaly Petrov will be the first driver to try out the new Renault R31 car next week, when the F1 testing season kicks off in Valencia. A day after the team will present their 2011 challenger to the media inside Valencia's Ricardo Tormo pitlane, an event scheduled for January 31st, the Russian driver will give it a proper test along with the other 11 racers to test on Monday.

After Petrov will conclude the first day of testing on the Spanish track, teammate Vitaly Petrov is set to take over for the next 2 days. After that, the Renault duo will alternate at the wheel of the new car for the remainder of the 2011 winter testing, driving 2 days each during the upcoming 3 tests on schedule.

Testing in Formula 1 will resume on February 10 thru 13, when all the F1 teams will travel to Jerez for a 4-day meeting. In fact, all tests in February and March will be ran on a 4-day schedule (except for the opening one, in Valencia), including Barcelona (February 17-20) and Bahrain (March 3-6), one week before the season kick-off.

Lotus Renault's testing scheme means that Petrov will get to drive the 2011 single-seater one day less than Kubica.

Along with Renault, 7 other teams will bring their 2011-spec cars to the Ricardo Tormo race track, while the remaining 4 teams will come with their last year's challengers. McLaren, Force India, Virgin and HRT will miss out the opportunity to give their new cars some track time, while Ferrari, Red Bull, STR, Sauber, Team Lotus, Williams and Mercedes GP will be there showing off their new material.