Formula One’s Lotus-Renault boss Eric Boullier has stated his team will make a decision on its 2012 driver line-up within the fortnight.
Autosport.com quotes Boullier as saying the outfit is currently evaluating several options for next year.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Robert Kubica would not be ready to start the campaign next year. Others such as Romain Grosjean, Bruno Senna, Adrian Sutil, Heikki Kovalainen as well as Kimi Raikkonen, were recently named as the most likely candidates to join the team for which Russia’s first Formula One driver, Vitaly Petrov, competes at the moment.
The final call will be made at an imminent meeting of the Enstone-based team’s board, Boullier shared.
“We have discussed at length the different scenarios, and we have had time because with Robert (Kubica), we were expecting and waiting for news, and now it is in the hands of the board,” explained Boullier.
“Kimi is a possible scenario… yes, if you want. But the list is long, and there are even some drivers under contract [elsewhere], who have some clauses to get out of their contracts. So the list is quite long,” Boullier said, referring to Raikkonen.
According to the Lotus-Renault boss, the team is unlikely to include Rubens Barrichello, despite holding talks with the Brazilian.
As for Petrov, his future with the team is still unclear. The Russian holds a contract until the end of 2012. However, the team is unlikely to be satisfied with his performance this year as he has managed to bring home only 36 points and currently occupies 9th place in the overall standings.