Lotus to reveal drivers on Monday
| By Matt Beer |
Saturday, December 12th 2009, 08:57 GMT |
 The new Lotus Formula 1 team is to announce the identity of its 2010 drivers on Monday.
Team boss Tony Fernandes revealed via his Twitter feed that both cockpits had now been filled and that the announcement was imminent.
"Bringing home two drivers for the Lotus F1 team. Announcement Monday," Fernandes wrote.
AUTOSPORT understands that ex-Toyota driver Jarno Trulli is near certain for one Lotus seat. The Italian veteran has long been linked with the project having worked with Lotus technical boss Mike Gascoyne at Jordan, Renault and Toyota.
The second Lotus drive is believed to have come down to a choice between Heikki Kovalainen and Takuma Sato.
Former McLaren driver Kovalainen is on the market after losing his seat to world champion Jenson Button, while Sato has been working to break back into F1 in recent months having been on the sidelines since Super Aguri folded in early 2008. Sato tested for Toro Rosso last winter, but the team eventually chose to retain Sebastien Bourdais instead.
Malaysian Formula Renault 3.5 frontrunner Fairuz Fauzy could get a test and reserve role with Lotus, but early speculation that he would race for the team has been played down by Fernandes and Gascoyne.
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