Renault drivers Petrov, Senna not bothered by Romain Grosjean’s promotion – Formula 1 news
Renault duo Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna is adamant that Romain Grosjean’s scheduled appearances at the final two Friday morning practice sessions of the current season is not going to put any pressure on them.
Renault said the move to let Grosjean take Senna’s seat in Abu Dhabi during the first practice and Petrov’s in the Brazilian practice session will give him a lot of experience and confidence which will make him a better driver, and give him the precious
experience of driving the R31 during a race weekend.
There has been speculation that Grosjean is actually being trained for a possible race seat in 2012 and with Robert Kubica’s comeback creating more ambiguity and anxiety with Renault, it is likely Grosjean may be groomed for the next season.
Senna, who joined the team six races ago, replacing Nick Heidfeld, said he is not too concerned by handing over his car to Grosjean during the first practice, and said it is the nature of the sport and competitiveness for seats is a norm.
“I think out of the Friday losses I'm taking the smaller hit because Abu Dhabi will be very dirty to start with on Friday,” he said. “So it should be OK for me to jump in the car in the afternoon and still get some good work done with the guys.”
While Petrov insisted that his contract with Renault is for 2012 and he has full faith in it. He added Grosjean’s inclusion is not going to affect him.
“I'm comfortable, I have my place,” he said. “I think it's a very good opportunity for Romain, to give him some laps to drive. At least we know the track so it's not a big problem, if it had happened in India then yes it would be a bigger problem.”
It would be interesting to see who Renault go for in 2012. Recent reports from Kubica’s management and meetings that Renault has had with them suggest that Kubica’s inclusion in the team is getting seemingly more and more difficult to mature. In that scenario,
Grosjean will be a good young talent to have ready for action.
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