Renault: Petrov's future in his hands

Renault says Vitaly Petrov's future at the team is in his own hands, in the wake of rumours linking Kimi Raikkonen to a Formula 1 return with the outfit in 2011

Robert Kubica recently signed a two-year deal with Renault. The second seat for next season remains open with Raikkonen mooted as a possible replacement for Petrov should he decide to leave the World Rally Championship after one year.

Renault team boss Eric Boullier says he has been pleased with Petrov's performances so far in his rookie season, but is looking for the Russian to improve his consistency and help Renault challenge Mercedes for fourth place in the constructors' championship.

"His future is in his hands," Boullier said in this week's Renault team podcast. "We have not been disappointed by him - he clearly is the best rookie in the paddock.

"He did some very amazing jobs sometimes [but] he's clearly today lacking some consistency to get the points he deserves. We definitely need to have both cars scoring points, so that's obviously creating some rumours surrounding his race seat.

"But we are totally committed to him. We are happy to have him on board and we will do everyhting we can to help him take the final step to where we want him to be."

Renaut is currently 37 points behind fourth-placed Mercedes, with Kubica having scored 83 of its 89 points so far.