No driver changes at Lotus for 2011
Out of 12 Formula One teams that are expected to take part in the 2011 Formula one grid, 6 of them have announced their final drivers’ line-up while 6 of them are yet to announce their official driver’s line-up for 2011. Lotus
is one of the teams that have officially announced its driver’s line-up and it seems that just like Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes, Lotus hopes to keep the same drivers for the 2011 Formula One season.
Lotus confirmed that Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli will keep their seats in the team and return for another year with the team. Team Sauber was the only team to name its two drivers with a new signing. Sergio Perez will be
joining the team for 2011 alongside the Rookie Driver of the Year award winner Kamui Kobayashi.
Lotus had a disappointing season this year after they returned to the sport after almost 16 years. The team was unable to score a single point even though Lotus has two great drivers in their camp. Hispania Racing Team (HRT) and
Virgin Racing team on the other hand had rookie drivers with the exception of Timo Glock in Team Virgin.
Other than that, Vitaly Petrov and Nico Hulkenberg’s future is still hanging in the balance as Nico was literally forced out of Williams even though he deserved another chance while Vitaly Petrov’s decision is still uncertain.
Robert Kubica and Rubens Barrichello were able to keep their seats in Renault and Williams respectively and it seems that Nico might have some trouble signing with another team as a full time driver for 2011.
Nevertheless, Lotus was facing another problem when they were asked to change their name by Group Lotus and it became a big problem for the team. The team still has not announced their official name for 2011 but the official FIA’s
listings stated their name as “Team Lotus.”
Force India has not confirmed its driver’s line-up either and it seems that Force India is a team that most of the drivers without a confirmation for 2011 are looking forward to race for. There were many rumours that Nico Hulkenberg
is currently in conversation with the team but Force India has not officially revealed anything yet.
However, it would be interesting to see what Lotus comes up with for 2011 as the team has 7 titles to its credit and they are hoping to rise and compete against the top running teams once again.
Tags: