Vitaly Petrov Profile

Vitaly Petrov is one of a clutch of Formula One drivers that will be making their debut at the highest level of motorsport in the 2010 Formula One season. Known as the ‘Vyborg Rocket’ in his native Russia, Petrov will become the first Russian to compete in the sport of Formula One racing.

Nationality: Russian
Date of Birth: 08/09/1984
Team: Renault
World Championship Titles: 0
First Race: 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix
First Win: N/A
Car Number: 12
2009 Championship Position: N/A

Vitaly Petrov came to racing at an unusually late age. While most Formula One drivers cut their teeth in kart racing as children, Petrov was born in a town with no racing culture or infrastructure and had to wait until the age of 17 to race competitively for the first time.

Petrov made his debut as a racing driver in the Russian Lada Cup in 2001. The young Russian would spend two seasons in the racing league, claiming a clean sweep of Lada Cup races to win the Championship in his second year in the driver’s cockpit.

Success in Russia attracted interest from central Europe, and in 2003 Petrov was invited to join the Italian Formula Renault League. Petrov failed to performed in Italy, however, and finished his first season in Formula Renault in 19th place.

A crestfallen Petrov returned to Russia to resume competition in the Lada Cup. This sparked an instant return to form, and Petrov went on to start every race of the season in pole position, eventually finishing the season in second place in the championship.

The Russian went on to spend another season rebuilding his confidence in the Lada Cup, winning his second championship title whilst simultaneously claiming victory in the Russian Formula 1600 series.

With his confidence recharged, Petrov made a full return to European racing in 2006. The Russian raced in the 3000 Euroseries, claiming four wins as he achieved third place in the championship. That year also marked Petrov’s GP2 debut, as the Russian raced several events for David Price racing.

Petrov would spend the next three seasons in GP2 racing for Campos Racing, working his way up from a 13th placed finish in his first full season in the sport to second place behind Nico Hulkenberg in 2009 GP2 Series.

Success in GP2 opened the door to Formula One racing, and with several new teams hiring drivers, Petrov was approached by a number of suitors towards the end of the 2009 season. The Russian eventually decided to make his F1 debut with Renault, ending his relationship with Campos Racing.

Formula One Rankings
Position Driver Pts
1Sebastian Vettel
(Red Bull-Renault)		392
2Jenson Button
(McLaren-Mercedes)		270
3Mark Webber
(Red Bull-Renault)		258
4Fernando Alonso
(Ferrari)		257
5Lewis Hamilton
(McLaren-Mercedes)		227
6Felipe Massa
(Ferrari)		118
7Nico Rosberg
(Mercedes GP)		89
8Michael Schumacher
(Mercedes GP)		76
9Adrian Sutil
(Force India-Mercedes)		42
10Vitaly Petrov
(Renault)		37
11Nick Heidfeld
(Renault)		34
12Kamui Kobayashi
(Sauber)		30
13Paul Di Resta
(Force India-Mercedes)		27
14Jaime Alguersuari
(Toro Rosso-Ferrari)		26
15Sebastien Buemi
(Toro Rosso-Ferrari)		15
16Sergio Perez
(Sauber)		14
17Rubens Barrichello
(Williams-Cosworth)		4
18Bruno Senna
(Renault)		2
19Pastor Maldonado
(Williams-Cosworth)		1
20Pedro de la Rosa
(Sauber)		0
21Jarno Trulli
(Lotus-Renault)		0
22Heikki Kovalainen
(Lotus-Renault)		0
23Vitantonio Liuzzi
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
24Jerome d'Ambrosio
(Virgin-Cosworth)		0
25Timo Glock
(Virgin-Cosworth)		0
26Daniel Ricciardo
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
27Narain Karthikeyan
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
28Karun Chandhok
(Lotus-Renault)		0
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