Lotus-Renault boss Eric Boullier says Petrov incident over now – Formula 1 news
Lotus-Renault boss Eric Boullier said that his team driver Vitaly Petrov matter is closed now, as he has apologised to the team afterwards the outburst.
After the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Russian driver launched an outburst against Renault due to lack of team’s progress in the last few races of the 2011 Formula 1 season.
However, Petrov apologised to his team though a letter recently. After receiving the apology letter, Boullier added that the matter is closed.
The Enstone-based outfit boss discussed his driver’s interview and mentioned that the Abu Dhabi raceday was tough for the team and Petrov was exhausted not to have scored points during that. He added that drivers are not robots, they are human beings and
they can feel and take stress.
Apart from that, he stated that like other strong drivers, Petrov is also competitive.
Talking to reporters, Boullier commented, “Well, the interview was made minutes after Vitaly jumped out of the car last Sunday. The race was tough, he was upset not to have scored points, and he was exhausted. Drivers are not robots, they're human beings.
Also, like every driver, Vitaly is a competitor. Had he been on the podium in Abu Dhabi, he would have complained about not winning the race.”
He went on to mention, “We take this incident as exactly this - an incident. Vitaly has apologised to the team and sent an email to all the staff at Enstone. As far as we are concerned, the matter is closed.”
With regards to the Renault driver’s performance in the ongoing season, he had a good start as he successfully finished the initial rounds in the points for the team.
The 27-year-old driver has been unable to perform well on the grid in the mid of the season. He blamed the team’s wrong strategy and lack of his R31 car’s pace for his disappointing performance during the races.
In the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Petrov started the race from the 12th position at the Yas Marina Circuit. After battling it out with his competitors, he ended up in the 13th spot for the team.
Let’s see how he performs in the last round of the season, which will be held in Brazil next week.
Tags: