Staying together: Lotus drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli
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Lotus Racing are to stick with drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen for 2011 but plan to race with the historic Team Lotus name from next season. The news came as the entry list for the 2011 championship was announced by motorsport's governing body the FIA. Force India, Toro Rosso, Hispania and the renamed Marussia Virgin Racing have yet to confirm their driver line-up. Williams and Renault have an incomplete line-up with only Rubens Barrichello and Robert Kubica named respectively. Vitaly Petrov's seat with Renault has been the subject of speculation after an inconsistent rookie season and the team are yet to determine the Russian's future. Williams are still to announce a replacement for German Nico Hulkenberg, who did not have his contract renewed at the end of the season.
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606: DEBATE
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Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado has been strongly linked with Williams and ran for them during the end-of-season young driver tests in Abu Dhabi. Trulli, 36, hinted last week that he expected to renew his contract with Lotus, telling BBC Radio Norfolk he had already
begun working on the 2011 car.
The Italian is now preparing for his 15th season in F1 during which time he has raced for six different teams, securing his only grand prix victory in Monaco with Renault in 2004. Former McLaren and Renault driver Kovalainen, 29, has also re-signed for Lotus. The Finn scored the team's best result of 2010 when he finished 12th in Japan. Kovalainen's winter preparations were dramatically interrupted after he knocked himself unconscious in a crash during Sunday's Race of Champions event. The Finn wrote on the social network site Twitter: "I've been put to
bed-rest at home
as a precaution, heavy concussion, further tests in the next few days as head took a big hit."
Classic moment of 2010: Kovalainen puts out fires in Singapore
The entry list also confirmed Lotus Racing's reversion to the historic Team Lotus name. Founder Colin Chapman, who oversaw a series of championship wins between 1963 and 1978, ran his team under the Team Lotus banner and Lotus Racing owner Tony Fernandes is keen to emphasise the links between the two generations of racing teams. A Lotus Racing spokesperson stated the team's position on that subject had not changed despite an
ongoing dispute
over the use of the Lotus name. Malaysian car company Proton, which owns Lotus Cars, is expected to sponsor the Renault team in 2011, a deal that is expected to see the team renamed Lotus Renault. Lotus technical officer
Mike Gascoyne
commented on his Twitter page that the team and driver announcements were "great news for the team". Full 2011 F1 entry list 1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 3 Jenson Button (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 4 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 5 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 6 Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 7 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes 8 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 9 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault 10 TBC Renault 11 Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Williams-Cosworth 12 TBC Williams-Cosworth 14 TBC Force India-Mercedes 15 TBC Force India-Mercedes 16 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 17 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 18 TBC Toro Rosso-Ferrari 19 TBC Toro Rosso-Ferrari 20 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Lotus-Renault 21 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Lotus-Renault 22 TBC Hispania-Cosworth 23 TBC Hispania-Cosworth 24 TBC Marussia Virgin-Cosworth 25 TBC Marussia Virgin-Cosworth
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