Petrov confirmed at Renault

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 29 Jan 2010, 19:32

Petrov Signs For Renault
By Alasdair Lindsay - 29/01/2009
GP2 runner-up Vitaly Petrov has been signed by Renault as their second driver for the 2010 season.

Petrov had been a front-runner for the drive along with the likes of Nick Heidfeld, Christian Klien and 2009 driver Romain Grosjean.

Petrov brings plenty of sponsorship with him, namely from Russian gas giant Gazprom, rumoured to be as much as £13 million - but team principal Eric Boullier insists he has been hired for his talent rather than his wallet.

"I am looking for talent first and foremost, but then after that I do need to consider the sponsorship opportunities," said Boullier on Monday. "People say we are only looking at Petrov because he is bringing a lot of money, but he is not the richest driver we [were] talking to."

However Boullier had acknowledged his sponsorship brings many opportunites for the future.

"Obviously it would be wrong of me to ignore his nationality - he could potentially open up a new sponsorship market for us in the future. Russia is not an easy market and today F1 is not as popular there as it is in some other countries."

Chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung is also expected to be confirmed as the team's Test and Reserve driver. He already has connections to the team, as a client of Gravity Sport Management.

From http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2010/01/petrov-signs-for-renault

This is not some rumour like before - this is confirmation, he was at Enstone today signing the contract.

RejectSteve · Post by **RejectSteve** » 29 Jan 2010, 19:43

Damn you Renault! Admittedly, the Vyborg Rocket didn't have any real F1 options, but doesn't this suggest that Renault/Genii isn't that well-funded anyway?

karsten · Post by **karsten** » 29 Jan 2010, 19:45

with the money he brought he might have bought campos and run a GAZPROM machine!

Post by **mario** » 29 Jan 2010, 19:50

Interesting - I know that Petrov had been hunting around for a seat in F1 (given that he'd been linked with Campos for a while), and with the financial backing he brings, he would have been quite a catch for several teams. From what I've heard from GP2 (although I haven't been following it as much as before) is that he is a solid and steady driver, even if he isn't the fastest of drivers.
So, at the very least, he should reliably bring the car home, hopefully in the points, even if Kubica may outshine him at times - overall, it sounds like a decent and pragmatic choice. And credit to Renault-Genii - at least they have decided to take a bit of a risk on a young driver who has shown some potential.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 29 Jan 2010, 19:56

One of my friends is going to be absolutely giddy about this news. Good thing, too, because Petrov deserves a shot at F1 on merit.

elho · Post by **elho** » 29 Jan 2010, 19:57

with a polish and a russian in their seats, maybe renault could change the name to Dacia F1 Team.
probably they sell more dacias than renaults these days...

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 29 Jan 2010, 20:11

RejectSteve wrote:Damn you Renault! Admittedly, the Vyborg Rocket didn't have any real F1 options, but doesn't this suggest that Renault/Genii isn't that well-funded anyway?

They don't have any money in reserve if thats what you mean...its an investment fund - if they turn a loss and not the profit they'll have a load of angry creditors after them wanting their money back, which Genii won't have.

Wonder how long it takes all the major media outlets to catch on...

So thats Me 2, Reuters 0 :lol:

P_Friesacher · Post by **P_Friesacher** » 29 Jan 2010, 20:34

elho wrote:with a polish and a russian in their seats, maybe renault could change the name to Dacia F1 Team.
probably they sell more dacias than renaults these days...

Not sure if that's such a good idead: The car is sold as "Renault Logan" in Russia!

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 29 Jan 2010, 20:37

P_Friesacher wrote:
elho wrote:with a polish and a russian in their seats, maybe renault could change the name to Dacia F1 Team.
probably they sell more dacias than renaults these days...

Not sure if that's such a good idead: The car is sold as "Renault Logan" in Russia!

Maybe a reincarnation of the 555/Lucky Strike livery is in order? 50% Dacia Sandero, 50% Renault Logan. Simples! (The car will of course have to be sponsored by CompareTheMeerkat now).

P_Friesacher · Post by **P_Friesacher** » 29 Jan 2010, 20:55

Are they allowed to write their sponsors' name in cyryllic on Petrov's car?

Anyway: A good chioce for Renault both money- and driver-wise - and a great exclusive for you!

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 29 Jan 2010, 22:12

I want this to be true. I want to see Petrov racing, because I think he's been pretty impressive in the way he's gone from the back of the GP2 grid to the front faster than anyone else. And I think it would be criminal if the GP2 champion (Hulkenberg) and third place-getter (di Grassi) were promoted to F1, but the runner-up (Petrov) were to miss out. That said, though, this article isn't confirmation. It's quoting Eric Boullier from a few days ago when he said that Renault could start testing without a second driver. However, Petrov has said he wants to sign a contract by February 1st because he doesn't want the team to start testing without him, and if it doesn't happen he'll go to Campos (bad move: Campos may not even show up, much less test).

elho wrote:with a polish and a russian in their seats, maybe renault could change the name to Dacia F1 Team.

Moskvitch F1. The Russians used to enter Moskvitch M21s in the Rally Finland back in the 1960s and 1970s. They used to show up in heavy leather jackets and the joke was that the KGB ran the team. The Finns used to love it when they wiped out.

P_Friesacher wrote:Are they allowed to write their sponsors' name in cyryllic on Petrov's car?

They are indeed. They'll no doubt have it in English, though.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 29 Jan 2010, 22:20

Captain Hammer wrote:That said, though, this article isn't confirmation. It's quoting Eric Boullier from a few days ago when he said that Renault could start testing without a second driver. However, Petrov has said he wants to sign a contract by February 1st because he doesn't want the team to start testing without him, and if it doesn't happen he'll go to Campos (bad move: Campos may not even show up, much less test).

Actually it is - he was at Enstone today signing the contract, but I forgot to mention it :oops:

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 29 Jan 2010, 22:28

kostas22 wrote:Actually it is - he was at Enstone today signing the contract, but I forgot to mention it

May I ask how you know this?

I'm hoping you're not quting the article again, because I just spotted another error: the article claims he is "rumoured" to have thirteen million pounds' worth of sponsorship, but Petrov himself has confirmed that he has fifteen million Euros - roughly twenty-one million dollars; I don't know the going rate in pounds - from Gazprom and Sberbank.

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 29 Jan 2010, 22:45

Good choice; it would have been jarring to see Grosjean again.

P_Friesacher · Post by **P_Friesacher** » 29 Jan 2010, 23:07

Captain Hammer wrote:
P_Friesacher wrote:Are they allowed to write their sponsors' name in cyryllic on Petrov's car?

They are indeed. They'll no doubt have it in English, though.

This was, perhaps, badly phrased. What I meant was, are they allowed to have the sponsors' names in cyrillic only on Petrov's car, while leaving them in latin alphabet on Kubica's car. But not the best joke anyway, so just forget it... :roll:

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 29 Jan 2010, 23:14

P_Friesacher wrote:
Captain Hammer wrote:
P_Friesacher wrote:Are they allowed to write their sponsors' name in cyryllic on Petrov's car?

They are indeed. They'll no doubt have it in English, though.

This was, perhaps, badly phrased. What I meant was, are they allowed to have the sponsors' names in cyrillic only on Petrov's car, while leaving them in latin alphabet on Kubica's car. But not the best joke anyway, so just forget it...

If it was Cyril Despres who drives the car then it would have been funny...

watka · Post by **watka** » 29 Jan 2010, 23:14

P_Friesacher wrote:
Captain Hammer wrote:
P_Friesacher wrote:Are they allowed to write their sponsors' name in cyryllic on Petrov's car?

They are indeed. They'll no doubt have it in English, though.

This was, perhaps, badly phrased. What I meant was, are they allowed to have the sponsors' names in cyrillic only on Petrov's car, while leaving them in latin alphabet on Kubica's car. But not the best joke anyway, so just forget it...

Brawn had sponsor in Cyrillic at Interlagos last year, which was rather random of them.

As for Moskvich, it wouldn't be the first time: http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt12119.html

tc3j3r · Post by **tc3j3r** » 29 Jan 2010, 23:18

I hope he succeeds, and think that there's a decent chance that he will, but if he doesn't, he'd be perfect for this website! With Kubica, is this the fist all-East European driver lineup in F1 history?

Post by **mario** » 29 Jan 2010, 23:27

Captain Hammer wrote:
kostas22 wrote:Actually it is - he was at Enstone today signing the contract, but I forgot to mention it

May I ask how you know this?

I'm hoping you're not quting the article again, because I just spotted another error: the article claims he is "rumoured" to have thirteen million pounds' worth of sponsorship, but Petrov himself has confirmed that he has fifteen million Euros - roughly twenty-one million dollars; I don't know the going rate in pounds - from Gazprom and Sberbank.

At the current exchange rate of 1.15 Euros to £1 sterling, that comes out as £13 million - so, it's on the money there (if you'll pardon the turn of phrase).

P_Friesacher wrote:
Captain Hammer wrote:
P_Friesacher wrote:Are they allowed to write their sponsors' name in cyryllic on Petrov's car?

They are indeed. They'll no doubt have it in English, though.

This was, perhaps, badly phrased. What I meant was, are they allowed to have the sponsors' names in cyrillic only on Petrov's car, while leaving them in latin alphabet on Kubica's car. But not the best joke anyway, so just forget it...

Didn't Petrov's team do that whilst he was in GP2? His car had the sponsor names in the Cyrillic script whilst his team mate used the Latin alphabet (or it might have been in F3, thinking about it).
But it is promising - it's great to see someone come from Russia, considering that there hasn't been a huge amount of Russian involvement in F1 (asides from Kimi's vodka), and it is about time that a few new faces made it into the sport.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 29 Jan 2010, 23:49

watka wrote:Brawn had sponsor in Cyrillic at Interlagos last year, which was rather random of them.

Got a photo?

watka wrote:As for Moskvich, it wouldn't be the first time: http://www.grandprix.com/gt/gt12119.html

The best part of this is that I didn't even know!

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 30 Jan 2010, 00:07

Captain Hammer wrote:
kostas22 wrote:Actually it is - he was at Enstone today signing the contract, but I forgot to mention it

May I ask how you know this?

Lets just say I know some people close to Renault...but I can't divulge any further than that.

TeamTipper · Post by **TeamTipper** » 30 Jan 2010, 00:25

Does the chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung bring some cash/sponsors from China?

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 30 Jan 2010, 00:36

kostas22 wrote:Lets just say I know some people close to Renault...but I can't divulge any further than that.

Will you excuse me if I elect to take this thread with a grain of salt? It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that my inner sceptic gets fired up whenever someone says "I know a guy who knows a guy". I understand that you probably do know someone and that you don't want to talk about it - I have similar connections in other circles; I know people who work for EON Productions making James Bond films - but I have encountered far too many people who claim insider knowledge to try and make it look like they know more about the subject than they really do. I'm a regular on the F1 project over at Wikipedia and I once had a guy try to convince me he was close to Vitaly Petov's people and that Petrov had signed for Campos as early as November.

It's not that I don't believe you, it's just a question of reasonable doubt.

TeamTipper wrote:Does the chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung bring some cash/sponsors from China?

Possibly, but unless he's going to be a race driver, it's unlikely they'll sponsor the team. Although a car covered in Cyrllic and Chinese characters would be a sight to see ...

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 30 Jan 2010, 00:48

Captain Hammer wrote:
kostas22 wrote:Lets just say I know some people close to Renault...but I can't divulge any further than that.

Will you excuse me if I elect to take this thread with a grain of salt? It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that my inner sceptic gets fired up whenever someone says "I know a guy who knows a guy". I understand that you probably do know someone and that you don't want to talk about it - I have similar connections in other circles; I know people who work for EON Productions making James Bond films - but I have encountered far too many people who claim insider knowledge to try and make it look like they know more about the subject than they really do. I'm a regular on the F1 project over at Wikipedia and I once had a guy try to convince me he was close to Vitaly Petov's people and that Petrov had signed for Campos as early as November.

It's not that I don't believe you, it's just a question of reasonable doubt.

It's not directly inside Renault - but they do some work for various bodies in motorsport. Renault just happens to be one of their current clients at the moment...
And that Wikipedia guy was talking bullsh*t - in late October this same source was working with Campos (though I don't think it's the case now, a sign maybe?) and Senna and DLR were the drivers they were chasing - Petrov was not in their plans at that point.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 30 Jan 2010, 01:21

Yes, I'm aware he was making things up; I think he was just trying to get people to go to his "source", which conveniently happened to be his own website.

TeamTipper · Post by **TeamTipper** » 30 Jan 2010, 03:17

Renault are choosing so odd No.2 & test drivers this year.
But differences isn't all that bad.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 30 Jan 2010, 04:15

Haha, I'm in the midst of a massive argument with someone over at the Autosport forums who reckons that Jacques Villeneuve of all people would not just be a better choice for the Renault seat than Petrov, but the best choice of all. I proceeded to quote the following statistics on Villeneuve's career:

He was World Champion in 1997 and then went into freefall. He didn't win a single race after Luxembourg 1997. The year of his title defence saw him get on the podium twice, and the year after that he retired eleven times from eleven races and didn't score a single point. For the remainder of his career, he only managed two more podiums, both in 2001. He scored 81 points in his championship year; he could only manage 76 in the period from 1998-2006. That's less than he scored in his first year, 1996 (he scored 78), and on average, he has scored just eight points a season since 1997. In 132 starts since 1997, he scored points in just 31 and retired from 46 of them.

This person then claimed that "The moment you started quoting Jacques' stats after 1997 was the moment I stopped reading," which is another way of saying "I'm completely disregarding any evidence that proves me wrong and you're a fatty-fatty-boomstick so na-na-na-na-na-na!"

Waris · Post by **Waris** » 30 Jan 2010, 04:23

Captain Hammer wrote:Haha, I'm in the midst of a massive argument with someone over at the Autosport forums who reckons that Jacques Villeneuve of all people would not just be a better choice for the Renault seat than Petrov, but the best choice of all. I proceeded to quote the following statistics on Villeneuve's career:

He was World Champion in 1997 and then went into freefall. He didn't win a single race after Luxembourg 1997. The year of his title defence saw him get on the podium twice, and the year after that he retired eleven times from eleven races and didn't score a single point. For the remainder of his career, he only managed two more podiums, both in 2001. He scored 81 points in his championship year; he could only manage 76 in the period from 1998-2006. That's less than he scored in his first year, 1996 (he scored 78), and on average, he has scored just eight points a season since 1997. In 132 starts since 1997, he scored points in just 31 and retired from 46 of them.

This person then claimed that "The moment you started quoting Jacques' stats after 1997 was the moment I stopped reading," which is another way of saying "I'm completely disregarding any evidence that proves me wrong and you're a fatty-fatty-boomstick so na-na-na-na-na-na!"

In that person's defense:
Williams was horribly slow and unreliable in 1998, well, compared to the two best teams that year.
Jacques joined BAR in 1999, which, as we all know, went nowhere.
Jacques then sticked with the team despite offers from better teams because he wanted to persevere and see his dream of BAR succeeding fulfilled.
Then after David Richards took over and it wasn't 'his' team anymore, his results became worse, and David Richards pretty much kicked him out.
He was doing decently at BMW Sauber in 2006 until the team, who had wanted to get rid of him since the beginning of the season but couldn't because of his contract, found an excuse to drop him after his accident. (This has made me dislike Mario Theissen for years until I started liking him this year.)
Petrov, on the other hand, hasn't done bugger all except come 2nd in GP2 this year. Whoa, that's really impressive, man.

(Note: even though this is coming from a pretty big JV fan, I feel some of my points are genuinely good arguments, i.e. many of Jacques's bad results were not his fault! That said, whenever someone doesn't perform well and blames circumstances, other people will say they are making up excuses. All in all, Jacques Villeneuve is a Formula One World Champion, who has experience with slicks and high fuel loads, whereas Petrov just has money and, granted, a fair bit of talent, but then so does Ho-Pin Tung. If that Petrov announcement is really true, I am very sad, but I hope Jacques will either get a seat at USF1 or replace Petrov mid-season after his funds run out.)

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 30 Jan 2010, 06:57

Oh, suck it up, Jacques. The best drivers don't sit around expecting good results to come their way. If they're sitting in last place, they don't whinge that the team doesn't support them. They drive the wheels off the damn thing, acting as if they can still win the race even if they have no idea what is going to happen when they get into a corner until they're in it. That's what Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello had to suffer through in 2007 and 2008 and they never complained once. Sure, they were critical of the car, but they were constructive about it. The worst thing they could be accused of being was delusionally optimistic. They knuckled down and produced a monter of a car. They didn't just discreetly leave with their tails between their legs. The guy who claimed that everything between 1997 and 2006 for JV has since claimed that he should be given a drive based on merit because he "did better" than Felipe Massa, but Massa was only in his second or third season, by which time JV had a World Championship and a second place to his name.

What has Petrov done? He's second in GP2. That might not sound like much, but look at all of his results and then compare them to everyone else. In his first year, he was 26th overall. In 2009, he was 2nd. No-one has gone from the back of the grid to the front faster thn he has. It might not be as impressive as Hamilton and Hulkenberg, winning the series first time out, or di Grassi, who has always finished in the top three, but unlike those drivers, Vitaly Petrov has demonstrated an ability to improve himself. For all we know Hulkenberg and di Grassi will enter the sport and a plateau effect will begin. They won't get any worse, but the won't get much better. But Petrov has shown he can apply himself, and on that point alone he deserves the seat before Jacques Villeneuve, who always settled for second best.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 30 Jan 2010, 07:13

Waris wrote:(If that Petrov announcement is really true, I am very sad, but I hope Jacques will ... replace Petrov mid-season after his funds run out.)

Sorry, Waris, but two things stand out:

1) Adrian Sutil's sponsors are paying eight million for him to race, which equals about $500,000 per race. Petrov is paying fifteen million Euros, which is about 750,000 per race. Or, at Sutil's rate, he's good for a year and a half. His money isn't running out any time soon. And if his sponsors are offering title sponsorship, it's likely a condition of his contract that he can only be dropped for poor performance at the end of the season or else Renault will have to re-pay the money per race that remains, and they'll lsoe sponsorship.

2) Nick Heidfeld, Takuma Sato, Christian Klien, Ho-Pin Tung, Jerome d'Ambrosio, Romain Grosjean and Andy Soucek have all been named as potential Renault drivers. It's likely one of them will be test driver (Tung, apparently), and he'd be the man to replace Petrov is the Russian was dropped. In an interview with Eric Boullier, he pretty much named all of those drivers. Jacques Villeneuve didn't even rate a mention. In fact, Villeneuve is the only person who has been saying he'll drive for Renault again - and he had a similarly "confident" feeling of it all about Lotus, too. Look how that played out.

TeamTipper · Post by **TeamTipper** » 30 Jan 2010, 07:24

Villeneuve to me wasn't all that good. Yes he was 1997 world champion but he made so many mistakes that year eg Austrailan Candian and French GP. He isnt good in the rain. He thought that he would win at BAR and well did nothing and got his arse kicked by his teammate Button in 2003.
Renault wouldnt choose him just cause his world champion. He had to be always up their at the front of the field no matter what the car was like which he never did.
Personally hes better off at Nascar.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 30 Jan 2010, 08:21

Jacques Villeneuve is a driver who, while capable, made MANY career choice mistakes and lasted in F1 way longer than he should have. In 2004 he should have returned to the Champ Car World Series, where he might have been competitive, because he seemed more suited to Indycars than to F1 cars. Vitaly Petrov deserves the Renault seat, both on merit and on wallet.

Collieafc · Post by **Collieafc** » 30 Jan 2010, 08:24

Yet again I bring up my JV fact - since 1997 he has never led a single lap...

watka · Post by **watka** » 30 Jan 2010, 12:07

Captain Hammer wrote:Oh, suck it up, Jacques. The best drivers don't sit around expecting good results to come their way. If they're sitting in last place, they don't whinge that the team doesn't support them. They drive the wheels off the damn thing, acting as if they can still win the race even if they have no idea what is going to happen when they get into a corner until they're in it. That's what Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello had to suffer through in 2007 and 2008 and they never complained once. Sure, they were critical of the car, but they were constructive about it. The worst thing they could be accused of being was delusionally optimistic. They knuckled down and produced a monter of a car. They didn't just discreetly leave with their tails between their legs. The guy who claimed that everything between 1997 and 2006 for JV has since claimed that he should be given a drive based on merit because he "did better" than Felipe Massa, but Massa was only in his second or third season, by which time JV had a World Championship and a second place to his name.

What has Petrov done? He's second in GP2. That might not sound like much, but look at all of his results and then compare them to everyone else. In his first year, he was 26th overall. In 2009, he was 2nd. No-one has gone from the back of the grid to the front faster thn he has. It might not be as impressive as Hamilton and Hulkenberg, winning the series first time out, or di Grassi, who has always finished in the top three, but unlike those drivers, Vitaly Petrov has demonstrated an ability to improve himself. For all we know Hulkenberg and di Grassi will enter the sport and a plateau effect will begin. They won't get any worse, but the won't get much better. But Petrov has shown he can apply himself, and on that point alone he deserves the seat before Jacques Villeneuve, who always settled for second best.

+1 here. I was one of the people who was quietly impressed by Button and Barrichello's attitude and persistence during the Honda. Villeneuve was someone who, when things didn't quite go his way, the effort wasn't quite there at times. He started out his F1 career in a race winning car but he was never remembered as someone who developed a car. Petrov is far more of a trier. If GP2 is anything to go by, he'll start off a bit slow (I don't suspect that Renault will produce a great car anyway), getting to know his surroundings, but he'll show improvements. Kubica is the one who has everything to lose in that team, and if Petrov can put any kind of pressure on him, he'll win over plaudits.

This obviously depends if the rumours are true.

And Captain, I was wrong regarding the Brawn car at the Brazil. The one-off sponsors were Itaipava and Mapfre, Brazilian and Spanish brands respectively. They sounded vaguely Russian to me!

WeirdKerr · Post by **WeirdKerr** » 30 Jan 2010, 21:05

hmmm Vitaly Petrov is from Viborg which is only 38km from the finnish border..... and if im not mistaked that area was orriginaly in Finland anyway...

Post by **Nuppiz** » 30 Jan 2010, 21:07

WeirdKerr wrote:hmmm Vitaly Petrov is from Viborg which is only 38km from the finnish border..... and if im not mistaked that area was orriginaly in Finland anyway...

You hit the nail right on the head there, Viborg (or Viipuri as we call it) was part of Finland before the WWII.

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 30 Jan 2010, 22:07

Nuppiz wrote:
WeirdKerr wrote:hmmm Vitaly Petrov is from Viborg which is only 38km from the finnish border..... and if im not mistaked that area was orriginaly in Finland anyway...

You hit the nail right on the head there, Viborg (or Viipuri as we call it) was part of Finland before the WWII.

So...shall we assume he'll get wasted on vodka and ice cream like Kimi? :lol:

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 30 Jan 2010, 22:24

WeirdKerr wrote:hmmm Vitaly Petrov is from Viborg which is only 38km from the finnish border..... and if im not mistaked that area was orriginaly in Finland anyway...

Yes, but when Petrov was born, it had long since become Russian territory. He competes under a Russian racing licence, has a Russian name, speaks the Russian language and carries Russian sponsors. So he's Russian. I know the Finns are upset over the departure of Raikkonen, but I don't think the Russians will let them claim Petrov as their own.

shinji · Post by **shinji** » 30 Jan 2010, 22:28

Captain Hammer wrote:
WeirdKerr wrote:hmmm Vitaly Petrov is from Viborg which is only 38km from the finnish border..... and if im not mistaked that area was orriginaly in Finland anyway...

Yes, but when Petrov was born, it had long since become Russian territory. He competes under a Russian racing licence, has a Russian name, speaks the Russian language and carries Russian sponsors. So he's Russian. I know the Finns are upset over the departure of Raikkonen, but I don't think the Russians will let them claim Petrov as their own.

Is he the first Russian F1 driver? Good achievement for him if he is, I certainly can't think of another one.

WeirdKerr · Post by **WeirdKerr** » 30 Jan 2010, 22:33

shinji wrote:
Captain Hammer wrote:
WeirdKerr wrote:hmmm Vitaly Petrov is from Viborg which is only 38km from the finnish border..... and if im not mistaked that area was orriginaly in Finland anyway...

Yes, but when Petrov was born, it had long since become Russian territory. He competes under a Russian racing licence, has a Russian name, speaks the Russian language and carries Russian sponsors. So he's Russian. I know the Finns are upset over the departure of Raikkonen, but I don't think the Russians will let them claim Petrov as their own.

Is he the first Russian F1 driver? Good achievement for him if he is, I certainly can't think of another one.

and its the first all east european team (well driver-wise anyway) i hope stefan gp come in next year and sign HWNSNBM and Thomas Enge as drivers.....