F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone got involved in Vitaly Petrov’s quest to stay on the grid this year, the Russian driver’s manager has revealed.
We reported recently that, after the 27-year-old lost his Renault (now Lotus) race seat, the sport’s ’supremo’ Ecclestone became involved in order to keep Petrov on the grid.
The 81-year-old Briton has arranged to take his sport to Russia in the near future, while Petrov is supported personally by prime minister Vladimir Putin.
"As soon as it became clear that we could not stay with Lotus Renault, I spoke with Bernie," Petrov’s manager Oksana Kosachenko revealed to the Ria Novosti news agency.
"He expressed his support and tried to talk with the teams.
"The teams are, however, completely independent from Bernie Ecclestone, so he can’t influence their decisions in any way, unfortunately," she added.
Kosachenko denied rumours Petrov has already signed with Caterham for 2012 to replace the Italian veteran Jarno Trulli.