Oksana Kosachenko: Petrov doesn’t have salary in Formula 1

The manager of Lotus-Renault driver Vitaly Petrov Oksana Kosachenko has revealed that the Russian does not have a salary in Formula 1, spoke about his team’s objectives for the season, and admitted she holds negotiations with teams of the Top-5 about Petrov’s possible move there after his contract with Lotus-Renault expires.

«Vitaly really earns nothing. However, we hold talks that he should be paid some financial compensation in the future. So, hopefully, soon we will be able to tell Vitaly the good news that he will get a wage. It’s a matter of the next season, because no one would change the terms of agreement in the middle of a season – no pilot has such an option is his contract.

«Our contract with Lotus-Renault will be effective through 2012. But life will go on after that and you have to think about your future, that’s whe we conduct negotiations, of course. These are the teams of the Big Five.

«The attitude to Vitaly has really changed to the best lately. At first people were very skeptical of him. They thought he was a pay driver funded by the government. But soon all were convinced that it wasn’t the case. Ten years during which Vitaly has been training in professional motor racing, were not in vain. Today he is the only driver capable to represent Russia in the F1. And now, when Petrov became the leader of the team, the engineers lend their ear to him more and more often.

«As to Petrov’s objectives for the season, it’s clear that any pilot considers only the champion’s title to be a good result. However, we all understand perfectly well that it’s still a long way to go until Petrov will be able to try on the champion’s crown. Therefore, a place in Top-10 would be a satisfactory result for us. Moreover, reaching the podium this season once again is almost unreal.

«How happy are they with the pilot at Lotus-Renault? The team also has certain errors. They cannot hold it against the pilot, until they give him an ideal car. On the other hand, if you are a professional driver you have to manage the car in any conditions. Robert Kubica was such a driver, while Vitaly – though he is not a beginner – still only learns. After all, it’s only his second year in Formula 1. Of course, he already knows a lot, but he still has to glean more experience. However, I’d like to notice that we expect the improvement of the car’s performance in the circuit since the Belgian GP.

«Naturally, Vitaly is disappointed [with the team’s poor performances in the last two GPs – Sports.ru]. It’s disappointing not to earn points, especially if you feel the potential in yourself. It’s a pity that at the moment the development of the car lags a bit behind the development of the driver. But we are sure that very soon things will come to normal and the in last part of the season the will get back into the form they had at the beginning of the season.

«It’s quite hard for Vitaly to become the leader of the team in his second year of performances in Formula 1. He tries, he understands that he should aspire to it – at least because he has a two-year contract at Lotus-Renault and Nick Heidfeld came on as a replacement. Of course, the now pays more attention to Vitaly’s opinion but to what extent is he ready now to be a real leader? With less than two years of experience it is hardly real.

«Now Petrov will go to Russia to the racing festival in Sochi. It is said that everything goes easier at home. Let’s hope he will feel more comfortable mentally after the visit to Russia. At the same time I want to underline that even now Petrov doesn’t lose his courage. He works intensely with the team just like before. He is confident about the possibilities of Lotus-Renault, he still trusts the engineer, and expects that together with other members of the team he will do his utmost to return Lotus-Renault to those positions which the team had at the beginning of the season,» stated Kosachenko as quoted by Sportbox.ru.