Vitaly Petrov

Lore & Background

Unlike most top drivers, Petrov did not begin his career in karting, as there was very little motorsport where he lived. He began competing in motorsport in 1998, when he took part in rally sprints and ice races. Afterwards, he began competing in the Russian Lada Cup in 2001 and gained Oksana Kosachenko as his manager in 2001. He remained in the series for 2002 dominating the championship, winning each round to amass the maximum points total of 500. In 2003, Petrov began racing in the Formula Renault championships. His main campaign was in the Italian Formula Renault Championship for Euronova Racing, finishing 19th overall. During the year, he competed in several rounds of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, the Formula Renault 2.0 UK series, and finished fourth in the British Formula Renault Winter Series at the end of the year, taking one win. He also made his debut in Euro Formula 3000 at Cagliari. In 2004, Petrov turned his attention to the inaugural season of the Russian Lada Revolution championship. He started every race from pole position, but finished as runner-up. He also made selected appearances in Formula Renault and Euro F3000. Petrov remained in Russia for 2005, winning the Lada Revolution Championship with ten wins and the Russian Formula 1600 series with five wins. In 2006, Petrov raced in Euroseries 3000 with Euronova Racing. He finished third in the standings, scoring nine podiums in eighteen races including four wins at Hungaroring, Mugello Circuit, Silverstone Circuit and Circuit de Catalunya. Also he participated in the Brno round of the 2006 F3000 International Masters season, where he took a pole position. During the 2006 season Petrov made his debut in the GP2 Series for David Price Racing. He replaced French driver Olivier Pla, who lost his sponsorship from Direxiv in the team from the German round onwards. In 2007, Petrov moved to Campos Grand Prix, where he joined Giorgio Pantano. He scored five-point-scoring positions from 21 races and took his first victory at Valencia on his way to finishing 13th in the standings. He competed in several Le Mans Series races throughout the year, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Courage Compétition LMP2 car. The car completed 198 laps before retiring from the race, being classified in 38th. Petrov finished in third position with one win at Sepang International Circuit in the 2008 GP2 Asia Serie

In Their Own Story

The German summer heat hung heavy over the Nürburgring as Vitaly Petrov gripped the steering wheel of the R30. The track was a blur of grey tarmac and green runoff areas, but in his mind, there was only one target: the finish line. With the safety car having just pulled in, the field was bunched up, chaos reigning supreme. He felt the vibration of the V8 engine through his gloves, a reminder of the raw power at his disposal. As he dived into the final corner, overtaking a rival on the outside line, the realization hit him before the checkered flag even flickered: this was it. The roar of the crowd faded into a distant hum as he crossed the line, delivering Renault its first victory in years.

Reader's Guide

Petrov was announced as a Renault driver on 31 January 2010 and thus became the first Russian driver in the Formula One World Championship. He was signed for a one-year deal, with an option for a further two. His teammate for his debut season with the new Renault R30 car was Robert Kubica. After qualifying seventeenth, Petrov's first race ended prematurely when the team found his right-front suspension strut to be damaged. Petrov finished his first race at the Chinese Grand Prix, and in doing so, scored his first F1 points, as he finished in seventh position. This race was also noted for his overtakes of Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber under heavy rain. After qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix he started ninth. But after a collision with Fernando Alonso in the closing laps, he suffered a puncture and was forced to make a pitstop. On returning to the track, he set the fastest lap of the race, finishing fifteenth. In Hungary, Petrov qualified seventh, ahead of teammate Robert Kubica, with Petrov finishing the race in fifth place. In Belgium, Petrov started in 23rd place, after failing to set a time in qualifying because of a first-session crash. He made up 14 places in changeable conditions to finish ninth, resulting in his third consecutive points finish. Petrov retired on the first lap of the Japanese Grand Prix after colliding with Nico Hülkenberg, and crashed out of seventh place in the Korean Grand Prix. He qualified tenth for the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi, ahead of Kubica who qualified eleventh. In the race, Petrov pitted under an early safety car period which moved him up the order when drivers ahead of him pitted. Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber both came out behind him and Petrov remained ahead of them until the end of the race, which stopped the title contenders' progress and enabled Sebastian Vettel to win the title. After the 2010 season ended, Renault team boss Éric Boullier said that there was a good chance of Petrov remaining with the team in 2011. On 22 December 2010, he was retained by the team on a two-year deal. During the close season, the team were rebranded 'Lotus Renault GP' following a sponsorship deal with Lotus Cars. Teammate Robert Kubica suffered serious injuries in a rallying accident, with Petrov being joined by Nick Heidfeld for the start of the season. In the first race of the season in Australia, Petrov quali

Did You Know?

• Vitaly Petrov was the first Russian driver to compete in Formula One, at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix.
• Petrov's only Formula One podium finish was third place at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix.
• Petrov never won a Formula One Grand Prix; no Russian driver has ever won a Formula One Grand Prix as of 2025.