» Petrov: Grosjean’s drive was a mistake

Let’s hope this isn’t a case of the pot and the kettle!

Vitaly Petrov believes that the driver whom he replaced – Romain Grosjean – should not have jumped into the Renault cockpit mid-season to replace the sacked Nelson Piquet Jr.

The Frenchman has found himself on the F1 sidelines this year after a decidedly underwhelming F1 debut for the championship-winning squad, where he was well off team-mate Fernando Alonso’s pace and appeared completely out of his depth.

"Grosjean made a huge mistake by entering F1 mid-season," Petrov told the French publication Auto Hebdo.

"There was much more to lose than to win, especially with a car that even Alonso failed to find any good in. One of the F1 teams asked me to step in mid-2009 but I refused and my father supported me; we must start when a season begins, not step in en route."