Vitaly Petrov, not his highly rated teammate Robert Kubica, will be giving Renault’s 2011 car its maiden outing at Valencia next month.
The day after the launch of the Lotus Renault GP R31 on January 31, group testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit at Cheste begins.
Petrov has been asked to do the driving on 1 February, before Pole Kubica takes over for Wednesday and Thursday.
"At the moment our car looks good and this year will be easier for me because I know the team better and I know all the tracks. I can’t wait for things to begin," Petrov said on the team’s blog.
French TF1 commentator Christophe Malbranque reports that Romain Grosjean will be the team’s third driver in 2011.