Team Lotus Confirm Trulli for 2012.

Team Lotus have today confirmed that Jarno Trulli will remain with the team for the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship campaign, thus continuing the relationship between Trulli, Heikki Kovalainen and the team which started in late 2009.

With Trulli in the team, the Anglo/Malaysian team has proved to be the best of the 2010 newcomers and 2011 has seen further progress made as they seek to work their way up the field and towards their ultimate goal of Formula One success.

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal of Team Lotus said about the announcement that Trulli would be staying with the team for 2012: “We are all delighted that we have been able to reach an agreement to keep Jarno on board for at least one more year with our team. He has shown in qualifying in Monza just how much pace he has and how he can wring every last drop of performance out of his car and since day one with us he has brought a level of professionalism, insight and raw speed to our team that has helped accelerate our development on and off track. Today’s announcement will give us the benefit of his experience and knowledge into 2012, another very important year in the growth of our team.”

Trulli added about the announcement: “I am very pleased that we have been able to confirm today that my contract with Team Lotus has been extended into 2012. The challenge I first accepted when I joined the team is becoming more exciting every day, and I am very proud that I can keep helping the team take steps forward for at least another year. I would like to thank Tony, Kamarudin and Nasa for the chance to keep working with them, Riad, Mike and the whole team and I am looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead.”

Bottas Secures GP3 Crown with Monza Victory.

Valtteri Bottas and his Lotus ART team will head into the final race of the 2011 GP3 season as Champions after a fourth win of the season for the Finnish driver secured the crown, ahead of his Lotus ART team-mate James Calado, who followed Bottas home for the team’s third one, two finish on the trot.

Second, behind Bottas was enough for Calado to secure the Vice Champion position in the Championship, while the battle for third overall will be decided during the final race of the season.

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Marussia Manor Racing) made a good start from Pole Position to retain the lead of the race from Nico Muller (Jenzer Motorsport) but it was Champion Elect Bottas who made the best start.

From fifth on the grid, the flying Finn was third before the first corner – having taken the positions from Rio Haryanto (Marussia Manor Racing) and Mitch Evans (MW Arden), while Calado held station in sixth.

The nature of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza meant that the battle for the podium positions was a furious battle, Muller and Quaife-Hobbs battling over the race lead while Haryanto was the first driver to make a move on Bottas – this left the Finn in the clutches of his British team-mate.

A few laps later and the Marussia Manor Racing team received a double blow as Quaife-Hobbs lost the lead of the race to Muller while Haryanto was overtaken by Bottas for the final podium position. Bottas then moved ahead of Quaife-Hobbs as the top three ran side by side.

Calado was soon on the move up the field, as he moved ahead of Evans and Haryanto, while up ahead, the battles continued to rage until Quaife-Hobbs ended his race in the barriers at Ascari and the Safety Car was deployed on lap ten.

With three laps remaining after the Safety Car was withdrawn, Calado prepared an attack on his team-mate and by the closing lap, he was right on the tail of Bottas, looking to get ahead to ensure the title battle went to the final race of the season.

However, Bottas defended and kept the place until the flag, where he was confirmed as the 2011 GP3 Champion, while the final podium position went the way of Haryanto after he came out on top of the duel with Muller.

Simon Trummer (MW Arden) finished an impressive fifth ahead of Conor Daly (Carlin), Antonio Felix da Costa (Status Grand Prix), Evans, Nigel Melker (RSC Mucke Motorsport) and Richie Stanaway (Lotus ART) – Stanaway was later penalised ten places on the grid for the final race of the season.

So at the end of the race, the new Champion was greeted by the team in Parc Ferme.

The final race of the 2011 GP3 Series will see Evans starting on Pole Position, and is due to get underway at 09.20 local time.

GP3 Series Monza Race 1 Result:

Position	Number	Driver	Team
1	2	V. Bottas	Lotus ART
2	3	J. Calado	Lotus ART
3	11	R. Haryanto	Marussia Manor Racing
4	7	N. Muller	Jenzer Motorsport
5	27	S. Trummer	MW Arden
6	14	C. Daly	Carlin
7	5	A. Felix da Costa	Status Grand Prix
8	26	M. Evans	MW Arden
9	31	N. Melker	RSC Mucke Motorsport
10	1	R. Stanaway	Lotus ART
11	15	C. Macleod	Carlin
12	30	M. Christensen	RSC Mucke Motorsport
13	16	L. Cordeiro	Carlin
14	18	T. Hylkema	Tech 1 Racing
15	29	D. Mancinelli	RSC Mucke Motorsport
16	9	C.Hurni	Jenzer Motorsport
17	24	G. Chaves	Addax Team
18	28	L. Williamson	MW Arden
19	20	M. Stockinger	Atech CRS GP
20	12	M. Laine	Marussia Manor Racing
21	4	A. Sims	Status Grand Prix
22	17	A. Vainio	Tech 1 Racing
DNF	23	T. Dillmann	Addax Team
DNF	10	A. Quaife-Hobbs	Marussia Manor Racing
DNF	21	N. Yelloly	Atech CRS GP
DNF	19	T. Pal Kiss	Tech 1 Racing
DNF	6	I. Lukashevich	Status Grand Prix
DNF	22	Z. Amberg	Atech CRS GP
DNF	25	V. Ghirelli	Addax Team
DNF	8	M. Zimin	Jenzer Motorsport