Gentlemen, Start Your Engines: Lotus, Williams confirm drivers for 2011

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Lotus

With the 2010 World Championship consigned to the history books, the Formula One grid is gearing up for next season. Sixteen out of twenty-four seats have already been spoken for as Lotus and Williams have each confirmed both their drivers.

After Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes confirmed that their duos will carry on for 2011, Lotus has followed suit in announcing that both Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen will be retained for next season as well.

Taking Nico Hulkenberg's seat at Williams, meanwhile, will be GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado, driving alongside Rubens Barrichello for an all-South American line-up. Hulkenberg remains optimistic that he'll be on the grid next season, but only Force India, Toro Rosso and Hispania have yet to confirm either of their drivers and both Renault and Virgin still have a seat each up for grabs, leaving his possibilities rapidly constricting.

With most teams carrying over their drivers, one exception is Sauber, which will keep Kamui Kobayashi on board, but after replacing Pedro de la Rosa with Nick Heidfeld, have replaced both with GP2 runner-up Sergio Perez for next season. Follow the jump to see who'll be where for next season.

[Source: Lotus, Williams | Image: Cristina Quicler/Getty]

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Gentlemen, Start Your Engines: Lotus, Williams confirm drivers for 2011 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/08/gentlemen-start-your-engines-lotus-williams-confirm-drivers-f/

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