Vitaly Petrov – the worst in 2010?
Renault driver Vitaly Petrov joined Formula One this year and since it was his rookie year, he was unable to score points consistently and resultantly was highly criticized by many drivers and critics. His teammate Robert Kubica
on the other hand, gave an astonishing performance in a Renault that was nowhere near the top running teams this year.
The Russian driver was able to finish his season on a high note as he finished in 6th place ahead of Fernando Alonso in 7th. Vitaly was able to block the Spaniard for almost 40 laps in the race and he was
definitely one of the reasons for Alonso’s defeat this season.
Jos Verstappen, the famous Dutch driver thinks that Vitaly Petrov was the worst driver in 2010. Well that is a debatable statement. Some believe that Petrov gave a good “rookie season” performance while others believe that he should
have at least challenged his teammate on some circuits.
The thing is, Robert Kubica was extremely good and therefore, there were rumours that he was offered a seat as a replacement for Felipe Massa. Vitaly Petrov was not extraordinarily good, but he wasn’t that bad either. Drivers like
Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli were even more disappointing if we look at things that way. Heikki Kovalainen is far more experienced than Vitaly Petrov but he wasn’t able to secure even a single point and he could’ve done a little better in his Lotus.
The same goes for Jarno Trulli.
“The Russian Vitaly Petrov I feel was the worst newcomer and the worst driver. The difference in quality and in points with his teammate Robert Kubica was enormous, but it's maybe not a fair comparison because Kubica - along with
Vettel and Alonso - is the very best,” said Vestrappen.
“Apart from this race I mostly see Petrov as good at making mistakes. Whether against a wall, spinning off or messing up his start, he ruined quite a few races and you can't let that happen when you're driving for a strong team
like Renault,” he added.
According to Gerard Lopez, the only thing Petrov needs to work on is consistency and if he is able to perform consistently in 2011, he would definitely be able to score good points and hopefully even challenge his teammate Robert
Kubica.
“The one criticism we had of him and still have, to some extent, is not his pure speed but his ability to put together a whole weekend in a very focused and concentrated way. If anything in Abu Dhabi, he showed that if he wants
to, he can,” Lopez told the Media.
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