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Petrov feeling valued at Caterham
ESPNF1 Staff
February 23, 2012
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Vitaly Petrov completed 69 laps on his first day for Caterham on Wednesday © Sutton Images
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Vitaly Petrov says that he is pleased that Caterham was willing to listen to his opinion as soon as he joined the team, and has praised his new team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.
Petrov joined the team prior to the second test in Barcelona, with the test getting underway only four days after signing. During his time with Renault (now Lotus) Petrov admitted that it took him a year to feel comfortable within the team, but after his first day of testing when asked by ESPNF1 how he was settling in he said that he had felt immediately valued by Caterham.
"First of all when I came to this team I was really surprised how they were listening to me and there was something expected from what I would say," Petrov said. "So we started to work very close to each other. You need to understand this is not a big team at the moment; it's still a small team so you don't have parts where you can bring them straight away or if you ask today, tomorrow it will be here. So I think step-by-step they will get there but just need some times."
With Kovalainen having comfortably outperformed Jarno Trulli in 2011, Petrov said he knew it would be tough to beat his new team-mate but praised his openness in trying to push the team forward.
"I think Heikki will not give me an easy life, but he is very clever. He's a quick guy, everybody knows this. I'm very glad to work with him and I hope together we can [improve]. We've already started to work together for two days and I'm very happy what he's said. We have almost the same feeling in our car and I hope we will continue the same way to improve the car in future."
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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ESPN Staff
He has serious issues with Renault (now Lotus). Each and every statement he passes has an adverse sentiment for his former team. Tells you a lot about a person.