Renault Have 7 Options for Petrov's Seat in 2011

So far, no less than 7 drivers have been linked with a potential race seat alongside Robert Kubica at Renault next year, which makes it 7 times harder for current seat holder Vitaly Petrov to retain his position at Enstone for a second year running. Nevertheless, the latest comments made by team manager Eric Boullier have brought a ray of light into his hopes of keeping a yellow-black race suit in 2011.

“We are very pleased with what Vitaly has done so far,” a Russian television network quoted Boullier as saying prior to this weekend's German Grand Prix, at Hockenheim.

“The learning curve is still steep, but this is normal for any newcomer. Every new driver in F1 needs time to understand and do his best, and that is hard. But he has worked well so far, so we're waiting to see how it evolves. Before the end of the season, I'm certain we will begin discussing plans for next year,” added Boullier.

Well, from the looks of it, Renault and Petrov's manager haven't began discussions for a 2011 deal, leading many to assume (including us) that the Russian driver is considered more of a back up in case some of the proposed drivers will not take on the team's offer. According to several media reports in recent weeks, Kimi Raikkoen, Nick Heidfeld, Kamui Kobayashi, Heikki Kovalainen, Christian Klien, Adrian Sutil and Timo Glock are all in the running for the second seat at Renault.

Obviously, some of those names are unrealistic for 2011, and we're referring to Raikkonen, who will likely continue his adventure in the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2011. Nevertheless, from all those 7 names, Boullier confirmed “some are realistic because there are already discussions.”

Heikki Kovalainen is another driver who seems booked for the 2011 campaign, leaving only 5 other options for Renault. A decision from Boullier will unlikely happen until the late stages of the season.