Shake-up at Caterham F1: Trulli out, Petrov in

F1 News
Date: 17/February/2012

Jarno Trulli has lost his drive with the Caterham F1 team, just one month before the start of the 2012 season.

The Italian veteran - an F1 racer since 1997 and winner of the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix - tested for the newly renamed Caterham squad during the recent Jerez test, but has now been replaced by Lotus-Renault exile Vitaly Petrov.

Trulli, like team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, has been with the Tony Fernandes run team since its 2009 debut, under the Lotus Racing then Team Lotus moniker.

Rumours of his exit have been circling since last season despite the 37-year-old claiming to have a contract in place. So why has Trulli been replaced now? After thanking the Italian for his efforts, Fernandes gave a few clues - but no clear motive:

The Air Asia founder said: "It was not an easy decision to bring Vitaly in to replace Jarno, but it was one we made to ensure that we give fresh impetus across the whole team and with a realistic eye on the global economic market.

“Jarno has an incredible natural talent behind the wheel, and his winning record and longevity in the sport will bear testament to that talent in the Formula 1 annals forever, but now it is time to open a new chapter in our team's story, and Vitaly is the right person to help us do that.”

Trulli, who (like Kovalainen) hasn’t scored a point since 2009, certainly didn’t seem to have any hard feelings.

Trulli said: "I want to take this chance to thank everyone in the team for the two seasons we had together. From zero we built up and established a solid F1 team. I'm really proud to have been part of it. I understand the decision the team has made and I want to wish to the whole team the very best of luck for the season ahead."

Trulli’s exit follows a change of role for Catreham’s Mike Gascoyne, who has moved from being the F1 team chief technical officer to a more broader appointment as CTO for the whole Caterham Group.

Gascoyne has long been a close ally of Trulli, the pair working together at numerous teams.

Petrov will make his Caterham debut during the second pre-season test at Barcelona from February 21-24.