Vitaly Petrov’s future with the Renault team "is in his hands", according to team boss Eric Boullier.
The comments, made during a team podcast, indicate that recent reports linking Kimi Raikkonen and Adrian Sutil to the 2011 race seat alongside Robert Kubica were not wide of the mark.
Russian rookie Petrov brought substantial funding to the team in the wake of the Genii Capital takeover and the lost ’crash-gate’ sponsors, but he has also performed solidly.
But as Renault eyes a return to championship contention, Boullier admitted he must find the best possible occupant for the second car.
"His future is in his hands," he is quoted as saying on Wednesday.
"He did some very amazing jobs sometimes (but) he clearly is lacking some consistency to get the points he deserves. We definitely need to have both cars scoring points, so that’s obviously creating some rumours surrounding his race seat," added Boullier.
Boullier also confirmed reports that Renault’s own version of the F-duct will debut at a forthcoming race.
There have been suggestions the R30 could be fitted with the downforce-stalling innovation as soon as the Germany-Hungary double header, but Boullier said the F-duct’s introduction is "depending on the production".
"Maybe we will get it before (Hungary) but very likely right after," he said.