Vitaly Petrov

Lore & Background

Born and raised in Vyborg, Petrov began his career in rallying, skipping competitive kart racing altogether. Petrov competed for Renault and Caterham in Formula One, becoming the first Russian driver to compete in Formula One at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix. Widely known as the 'Vyborg Rocket' in Russia, Petrov scored his only podium finish at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix.

Reader's Guide

Petrov's early career included rally sprints and ice races in 1998, the Russian Lada Cup in 2001–2002, Formula Renault championships in 2003, the Russian Lada Revolution championship in 2004, and winning the Lada Revolution Championship and Russian Formula 1600 series in 2005. He raced in Euroseries 3000 in 2006, made his GP2 debut that year, and competed in GP2 from 2007 to 2009, finishing runner-up in 2009. In Formula One, he drove for Renault in 2010 and 2011, scoring his only podium at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix.

Did You Know?

• Petrov did not begin his career in karting due to very little motorsport where he lived.
• He scored his first F1 points with a seventh-place finish at the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix.
• Petrov's father Alexander admitted that his best friend 'Antiquary' or Ilya Traber, leader of the Vyborg Russian Mafia, is a major sponsor of the Renault F1 team and its driver Vitaly Petrov.