De Villota racing in DTM. In an R8. Something most men will only see and not drive. Not sorry. (photo credit: Flickr/Jose A. Herran)

After testing with Lotus at the end of last year, and (probably through an agent) claiming to be that team’s test driver, Maria De Villota has appeared again…and this time she has a test driver position.

Sure, it’s the team that couldn’t pass all its crash tests, but it’s better than no women drivers. And if you want to call it a “Danica situation,” I would kindly like to direct you to a fist. While trying to find out more about this before Marussia really announced it, I found a lovely condescending article on Bleacher Report (obviously) calling her test with Lotus a “publicity stunt.” Well publicity stunt this, suckers.

De Villota is the daughter of former F1 driver Emilio De Villota, and taking in her father’s footsteps, she has been racing in various open cockpit racing series throughout the years with a target of Formula 1.

Marussia apparently were more impressed with her test than Lotus, though there is no guarantee she will drive the car at all. In the statement, Marussia simply refers to it as a “chance” to drive the car, presumably at the Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Test far later in the year.

It’s entirely possible though that this opens up opportunities for De Villota to race in a feeder series to Formula 1, and I hope that is definitely the case.

While the chances of De Villota probably ever driving in a race are low, it’s still awesome to see a woman named a test driver in a sport that’s dominated by men. Congratulations, Maria!

Just as planned, Bruno Senna was confirmed as Williams’ other driver.

The team also said that Senna will drive February 9th during the first test in Jerez.

In the statement from Williams, Senna says, ”It will be very interesting to drive for a team that my uncle has driven for, particularly as quite a few of the people here actually worked with Ayrton. Hopefully we can bring back some memories and create some great new ones too.”

A Twitter user pointed out that now Bruno will have driven for two teams that his uncle had driven for…kind of. I guess there’s not much of a chance at McLaren with Honda engines though.

In an interview with Autosport, Bruno Senna said it was not all about the sponsorship money he’s bringing in. He says the team put him through rigorous testing to prove his worth.

Bruno, anyone can go out and get sponsors, but of course they want the best driver with those sponsors. But who cares, if that means you over a couple other drivers, that’s enough to even make cynics of pay drivers like me very proud.

And thankfully Autosport asked the question I have seriously been wondering about for weeks: what exactly does your family think about you driving with the team your uncle was with when he died?

Senna said he believes everything happens for a reason, and that his family is nothing but thrilled that he has a drive.

Congratulations, Bruno!

Photo from Flickr user Gregory Moine

Lotus Renault really likes these inopportune announcement times for their drivers. If I wasn’t a night owl, I wouldn’t have this up till the late morning like with the Raikkonen announcement.

This means Vitaly Petrov decided not to stay with the team and both he and Bruno Senna will need to be looking for seats elsewhere.

Romain Grosjean was considering giving up trying to get into Formula 1 if he did not get a seat for 2012. He had just recently tested for the BMW DTM team.

The signing also confirms another year of sponsorship with Total, so you can easily figure out that there is some driver sponsorship money involved.

Here is the official announcement from Renault, where Grosjean, an important guy at Total, team principal Eric Boullier, and team chief money supplier Gerard Lopez all compliment each other on this wonderful news.

“To be racing alongside a former world champion and someone who is hungry and returning to Formula 1 will be a great experience, and I’m sure will help raise my level of performance too,” says Grosjean. By hungry you mean for ice cream, right?

The team look to be starting anew after a rather disasterous finish to their season.

Romain Grosjean drove for the team in 7 races previously in 2009 after Nelson Piquet Jr. admitted to crashing on purpose during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. He was this year’s GP2 champion.

Photo from Flickr user jimmymac333.

Kimi at the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix

Kimi Raikkonen has signed a two year deal with Lotus (Lotus Renault this past season).

He was originally linked with a seat with Williams, but that fell through. It is thought he wanted shares of the team, and Williams did not take too kindly to that.

Raikkonen was world champion in 2007, which means there will be SIX world champions on the grid out of 24 drivers next year.

He left F1 after the 2o09 season to drive in the World Rally Championship. He also did a couple NASCAR races this past year.

On the signing, Kimi said, ”It was an easy choice to return with Lotus Renault GP as I have been impressed by the scope of the team’s ambition. Now I’m looking forward to playing an important role in pushing the team to the very front of the grid.”

The team has yet to confirm if Vitaly Petrov is the other driver for next season, but of course it’s likely that Raikkonen is replacing Bruno Senna at the team.

I am very confused as to how I feel.

Photo from Flickr user Aural Asia.

Pedro de la Rosa with Kamui Kobayashi at the 2010 Australian GP

Days after hitting out at the way the young drivers testing days work, Pedro de la Rosa signed a contract with HRT. The 40 year old driver raced last year for Sauber before being dropped, and he returned to his test driver role with McLaren-Mercedes this year, a job he previously held from 2003 to 2009.

Colin Kolles, HRT team principal, praised de la Rosa, saying his experience is just what the young team needs to progress and develop.

Pedro de la Rosa said there were three factors that helped him make this decision: HRT is a Spanish team, the people involved, and his desire to get back to racing. He is well aware that it’s going to be a challenge, with the team currently found at the back of the grid.

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh also praised the driver, thanking him for all his years with the team. The team will not need to fully replace de la Rosa with the availability of Gary Paffett and Oliver Turvey, who both participate in last week’s testing.

Photo from Flickr user bobthemelbournian.