Trulli awaits Toyota's budget decision

Although Toyota president John Howett has made it clear several times that he thinks it unlikely the Italian will be retained by the outfit, Trulli has revealed that he has agreed with Toyota's team principal Tadashi Yamashina not to commit to anything else for now.

Toyota's board is due to meet on November 15 to approve the F1 team's budget for next year - although there has been speculation that the car manufacturer could even pull the plug on the team altogether.

Until Toyota knows its 2010 budget, it cannot commit to driver wages - which is why it has so far stalled on making firm commitments to its current drivers.

And although AUTOSPORT understands that Trulli is the top target for the new Lotus F1 team, he has said that he will not sign anything for next year until he gets a final answer from Toyota next month.

"There is no news, because that's the way it's supposed to be," Trulli was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport. "I have a deal with Tadashi Yamashina, who has asked me to wait until 15 November, when Toyota decides its future in GP racing.

"I intend to respect this agreement, that's why I haven't made any moves to look for other solutions.

"Now I don't know whether Toyota really wants to retain me or not. And with someone trying to denigrate me through the press... I've read many incorrect things about me. I haven't spoken with the team about my contract for at least two months. So, either someone is playing dirty or maybe this person has been misquoted. But I keep calm and good."

Trulli took the Toyota team out for dinner in Brazil to celebrate its recent successes - where he made clear that the majority of people at the team wanted him to stay in 2010 - despite team president John Howett's recent comments.

"We were around 80 people and I challenge you to find someone who doesn't want me to stay in this team next year. Except perhaps for one person."

Toyota is still considering retaining Timo Glock for next year, but sources suggest that the German is the preferred choice by Renault to slot in alongside Robert Kubica.

Should Glock take up the offer he has from Renault, then the main option for Toyota could be Heikki Kovalainen, who is unlikely to be retained by McLaren for next year, and its Japanese test driver Kamui Kobayashi.