Robert Kubica is not a good teacher- Vitaly Petrov
Lotus Renault driver, Vitaly Petrov revealed that he has learnt a lot from his last year’s teammate, Robert Kubica but was actually never taught anything from him. Petrov stated that Kubica is an introvert person and rarely ever extended help or advice to
him. However, the Russian kept observing him all the time to learn how things run in the Formula One world.
Petrov explored the highest ranking series of the world for the first time ever, last year. Just like any other rookie driver, the year was not free from stress and pressure for the Russian driver. The very little practice ahead of the season and then the
uncompetitive 2010 Renault car added to the hardships of the driver’s debut season. However, the 26-year-old exposed a very reserved behaviour of his teammate saying that he kept watching the experienced Polish at work and tried to learn all that was never
taught to him by his teammate.
While answering a question to the media last week, Petrov expressed, “If you’re teammates with Robert you can’t learn anything from him because he’s a closed person, so you just watch his data, how he’s working, what he says to the engineers and that’s it.
I didn’t learn so much from him, but I learned his way of driving from the data, and [learned from] how he talked with his engineers.”
The 2010 campaign had been a very encouraging one for Kubica. Although he has not been able to win any of the races, the Polish made everyone believe in his capabilities. Many of the race analysts now safely say that once in the right car, he will soon win
a championship. The 26-year old made his debut in the sport in 2006 with Sauber. The 2010 season saw him for the first time under the Renault umbrella. He finished third on the podium, while the 2nd position in Australia was his best finish of the
season.
On the other hand, Petrov admitted that his debut season was filled with stress and pressure. 2010 had not been a complete disappointment for the driver but was definitely a tough one. He struggled all through the year showing flashes of good driving but
was never consistent in his performance. Moreover, the team announced that his 2011 seat only depended on his good delivery on the tracks, which increased pressure on him. Finally, a strong sixth place finish at the last round of the season, the Abu Dhabi
GP rewarded the driver with a new two-year contract with his Renault team. The Russian driver expressed, “It’s like ‘welcome to Formula 1’, because it’s very difficult as a rookie – learning the tracks, the cars and how Formula 1 works. I had a little bit
of pressure, a little bit of nerves, but then finally I found the solution and I think it’s working. Next season I hope will be easier for me.”
The team has undergone several changes in the past few months. A deal was signed in December between the team and the car manufacturing company, Group Lotus, which made the latter the title sponsor of the team. The squad will be entering the 2011 grid with
its new title, Lotus Renault GP while the team cars will ramp on next year’s tracks in black and gold livery.
Petrov looks forward to all these changes with much optimism. Although the team has failed to have won any race since 2008, the Russian believes that glory is now, not too far away. He is adamant to stay with the team for a long time and hopes to grow strong
and successful with the side.