Vitaly Petrov is still in the running for a 2012 race seat.<\/p>\n
Officially, the only remaining vacancy is at HRT, the struggling Spanish team.<\/p>\n
“HRT?” the Russian and former Renault driver is quoted by the Spanish sports daily AS.<\/p>\n
“I can’t say anything about that.”<\/p>\n
The AS interviewer asked Petrov if that means the former Hispania team is out of the question.<\/p>\n
“The answer is not no, the answer is that I can’t say anything.”<\/p>\n
The more conventional wisdom among F1 insiders is that Petrov and his manager Oksana Kosachenko are convincing their sponsors to pay to oust Jarno Trulli at Caterham.<\/p>\n
Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said Adrian Sutil is also a contender for that seat, but only pending the outcome of his forthcoming assault trial.<\/p>\n
“I want to stay in F1,” Petrov admitted, “because if I lose a year it will be very difficult to return in 2013.<\/p>\n
“It is very important to stay on the grid.\u00a0 My manager is in Europe trying to find a place.”<\/p>\n
It is obvious that his fallback option is to be Pirelli’s 2012 test driver.<\/p>\n
“I was asked to be part of this event,” Petrov said at the launch of the tyre supplier’s 2012 season in Abu Dhabi this week.<\/p>\n
“… Drive the cars, work with them, maybe we can reach an agreement but I still want to be at the Jerez test with a team, that is goal number one.”<\/p>\n
Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat quoted Petrov as also admitting that a reserve driver role is a possibility for 2012.<\/p>\n
O Estado de S.Paulo correspondent Livio Oricchio, meanwhile, said that Petrov – with the inaugural Russian grand prix on the horizon and the driver backed personally by Vladimir Putin – is also enjoying Bernie Ecclestone’s help in his bid to stay on the grid.<\/p>\n
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