Petrov to reveal plans next week

The Renault driver has been widely expected to remain at the Enstone-based team for 2011, with senior management stating that they will keep him on board if he can demonstrate some increased commitment to the job.

Although there has been no formal announcement from Renault, Petrov has called a media event for next Wednesday in the Press Center of Television and Radio Russia to recount on the past season and 'share his plans for the future.'

Renault F1 chairman Gerard Lopez told AUTOSPORT last week: "Our preferred choice at this stage is to continue with Vitaly, but he has to sit down with us.

"Vitaly was having an operation last week, so he didn't have time to sit down with [team principal] Eric Boullier and the engineers.

"The situation is that we will make the decision based on that discussion with Vitaly and his understanding of what it means if he stays at the team.

"Our expectation is that he can do what he did in Hungary or Abu Dhabi more consistently. We know that he has got the speed, but we also know that he sometimes lacks the focus to deliver on a full weekend. If we stay with Vitaly, he has to be able to do that more consistently."