Vitaly Petrov
 Petrov at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed |
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| Born | 8 September 1984 Vyborg, Soviet Union |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Russian |
| 2012 team | Caterham-Renault[1] |
| 2012 car # | 21 |
| Races | 38 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 1 |
| Career points | 64 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| First race | 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix |
| Last race | 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| 2011 position | 10th (37 points) |
Vitaly Aleksandrovich Petrov (Russian: Виталий Александрович Петров, born 8 September 1984 in Vyborg) is a Russian Formula One racing driver who will drive for the Caterham F1 Team in 2012, having driven for Renault in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. He is known as the "Vyborg Rocket" (Russian: Выборгская Ракета) in Russia.[2] He is, to date, the only Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Early career
Unlike most top drivers, Petrov did not begin his career in karting, as there was very little motorsport where he lived.[3] He instead enrolled in the University of Moscow, where he gained a degree in meteorology. Afterwards he began competing in the Russian Lada Cup in 2001. He remained in the series for 2002 dominating the championship, winning all rounds and amassing the maximum points possible of 500.[4]
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,[4] 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.[4] He also made his debut in Euro Formula 3000 at Cagliari.[4]
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.[4]
[edit] European series
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.[5] 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.[6]
In 2007 he moved to Campos Grand Prix, where he joined Giorgio Pantano.[7] He scored five point-scoring positions from 21 races and took his first victory at Valencia[8] on his way to finishing 13th in the standings.[4] He competed in several Le Mans Series races throughout the year, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Courage Compétition LMP-2 car.[4] 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[9] in the 2008 GP2 Asia Series season for Campos, behind champion Romain Grosjean and Sébastien Buemi. In the main series Petrov remained with the Campos team. He finished seventh in final standings, taking a win at the Valencia Street Circuit.[10] He finished fifth, with a win in the Sepang sprint race,[11] in the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season for Campos.
He stayed with the team for 2009, now rebranded as Barwa Addax, and finished as runner-up to the dominant Nico Hülkenberg in the championship, winning twice at Istanbul Park[12] and Valencia Street Circuit.[13]
[edit] Formula One
[edit] Renault (2010–2011)
[edit] 2010
Petrov was linked to joining Sauber, Renault F1 and Campos for the 2010 season. He was announced as a Renault driver on 31 January and thus he has become the first Russian driver in the Formula One World Championship (Igor Troubetzkoy raced a Ferrari Formula One car in 1948). He has been signed for a one-year deal, with an option for a further two. He was very close to signing for Campos but he felt Renault was the best option for him. He also mentioned that he had no major sponsors from Russia backing him just his dad and some of his friends.[3] Petrov stated that his goal is to start scoring points by mid-season. His teammate for his debut season was Robert Kubica, who like Petrov – who stands at 185 cm (6 ft 0.8 in) tall – is one of the tallest drivers on the grid.[14] After qualifying seventeenth, Petrov's first race ended prematurely when the team found his right-front suspension strut to be damaged, which the Russian suspected to have been caused by hitting a kerb too hard. He had been chasing Rubens Barrichello for tenth place and a World Championship point at the time of the incident.
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He 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.[15] 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 much respected team mate Robert Kubica. He finished in 5th place, his highest finish to date, while 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 9th, 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.[16]
[edit] 2011
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.[17] On 22 December 2010, he was retained by the team on a two-year deal.[18] During the close season, the team were rebranded 'Lotus Renault GP' following a sponsorship deal with Lotus Cars. Team-mate 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 qualified sixth — a career-best — and secured his first Formula One podium, finishing in third place behind race-winner Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.[19] In Malaysia, Petrov again ran in the points until he ran wide at a corner and left the circuit; attempting to rejoin, he hit a bump caused by a drainage gully which launched his car into the air and broke the steering column on landing. During qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, Petrov's car suffered a technical problem after he had posted the fourth fastest time of Q2. As a result, he could not compete in Q3, leaving him to start tenth on the grid. He drove a consistent race and made good strategy calls and made his way to ninth after passing several cars after his last stop of a two stop strategy on Lap 37.[20] An eighth place in Turkey added to his points tally before an eleventh place finish in Spain.
In Monaco, Petrov was taken to hospital after a crash, from sixth place, involving Adrian Sutil, Lewis Hamilton and Jaime Alguersuari. The crash halted the race for 20 minutes before it eventually restarted. He was released from hospital the same day,[21] and returned to the cockpit with a fifth place finish in Canada. Petrov had a difficult weekend in Valencia, where he finished 15th, having started from 11th on the grid. He finished 12th at the British Grand Prix, as new restrictions on blown diffusers were introduced. In Germany, Petrov returned to Q3 for the first time since Canada before finishing ninth. A non-points finish in Hungary was followed by a ninth at the Belgian Grand Prix. Petrov qualified seventh at Monza, but while battling with Nico Rosberg on the first lap, the HRT of Vitantonio Liuzzi crashed into the side of both of them, eliminating all three cars. Renault suffered their worst performance of the season in Singapore, where Petrov qualified in 18th and finished 17th, before a ninth place finish in Japan.
At the Korean Grand Prix, Petrov qualified eighth but retired after crashing into the back of Michael Schumacher on lap 16, causing a safety car. It became the third contact between the pair in 2011, when Petrov appeared to be too involved in trying to outbrake Alonso on the long straight before Turn 3. He incurred a five-place grid penalty for the incident at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, which meant that he had to start the race from sixteenth place. He finished the race eleventh, just in front of teammate Bruno Senna, and just missing out on the points-scoring positions. After finishing 13th in Abu Dhabi, Petrov launched an attack on his team in an interview on Russian television, citing lack of development, strategy mistakes, and criticisms of the drivers by team management.[22] Petrov apologised for the outburst with an email to all Renault staff, with Éric Bouiller claiming the matter was closed.[23] Petrov ended the season with a tenth place finish in Brazil, but with Adrian Sutil finishing sixth in the race, Sutil moved ahead of Petrov for ninth place in the final championship standings.
In December 2011, it was announced that Romain Grosjean would partner Kimi Räikkönen at the team in 2012, leaving Petrov without a drive.[24]
[edit] Caterham (2012–)
[edit] 2012
On 17 February it was announced that Petrov will drive for the Caterham F1 Team in 2012, replacing Italian Jarno Trulli.[25]
[edit] Racing career
[edit] Career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Lada Cup Russia | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1st |
| 2002 | Lada Cup Russia | SK OOO Favorit | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 500 | 1st |
| VW Polo Cup | ? | 1 | 1 | ? | ? | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Formula RUS | 10 Duimov | 2 | 2 | ? | ? | 2 | ? | ? | |
| 2003 | Formula Renault 2.0 UK Winter Series | Eurotek Motorsport | ? | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 4th |
| Formula Renault 2000 UK | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 28th | ||
| Formula Renault 2000 Italia | Euronova Junior Team | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 19th | |
| Formula Renault 2000 Masters | Euronova Racing | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| Euro Formula 3000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22nd | ||
| 2004 | Formula Renault 2000 Italia | Euronova Junior Team | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 28th |
| Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
| Euro Formula 3000 | Euronova Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| Lada Revolution Russia | Elex Polyus | 4 | 1 | 4 | ? | 4 | 43 | 2nd | |
| 2005 | Russian Formula 1600 | ArtLine ProTeam | 6 | 5 | 1 | ? | 9 | 85 | 1st |
| Lada Revolution Russia | Maxmotor-Ulianovsk | 14 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 9 | ? | 1st | |
| 2006 | Euroseries 3000 | Euronova | 17 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 72 | 3rd |
| GP2 Series | DPR | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28th | |
| F3000 International Masters | Charouz Racing System | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29th | |
| 2007 | GP2 Series | Campos Grand Prix | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 13th |
| 2008 | GP2 Series | Barwa International Campos Team | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 39 | 7th |
| GP2 Asia Series | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 33 | 3rd | ||
| 2008–09 | GP2 Asia Series | Barwa International Campos Team | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 5th |
| 2009 | GP2 Series | Barwa Addax Team | 20 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 75 | 2nd |
| 2010 | Formula One | Renault F1 Team | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 13th |
| 2011 | Formula One | Lotus Renault GP | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 10th |
[edit] Complete GP2 Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
[edit] Complete GP2 Asia Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Campos Grand Prix | DUB1 FEA Ret |
DUB1 SPR 9 |
IDN FEA 5 |
IDN SPR 3 |
MYS FEA 1 |
MYS SPR 3 |
BHR FEA 10 |
BHR SPR 3 |
DUB2 FEA 4 |
DUB2 SPR Ret |
3rd | 33 | ||
| 2008–09 | Campos Grand Prix | CHN FEA 5 |
CHN SPR Ret |
DUB FEA 5 |
DUB SPR C |
BHR1 FEA 10 |
BHR1 SPR 12 |
QAT FEA 3 |
QAT SPR 2 |
MYS FEA 6 |
MYS SPR 1 |
BHR2 FEA 19 |
BHR2 SPR 11 |
5th | 28 |
[edit] 24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Class | No | Tyres | Car | Team | Co-Drivers | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | LMP2 | 24 | M | Courage LC75 AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4 |
 Noël del Bello Racing |
Romain Ianetta Liz Halliday |
198 | DNF | DNF |
[edit] Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Renault F1 Team | Renault R30 | Renault RS27-2010 2.4 V8 | BHR Ret |
AUS Ret |
MAL Ret |
CHN 7 |
ESP 11 |
MON 13† |
TUR 15 |
CAN 17 |
EUR 14 |
GBR 13 |
GER 10 |
HUN 5 |
BEL 9 |
ITA 13 |
SIN 11 |
JPN Ret |
KOR Ret |
BRA 16 |
ABU 6 |
13th | 27 |
| 2011 | Lotus Renault GP | Renault R31 | Renault RS27-2011 2.4 V8 | AUS 3 |
MAL 17† |
CHN 9 |
TUR 8 |
ESP 11 |
MON Ret |
CAN 5 |
EUR 15 |
GBR 12 |
GER 10 |
HUN 12 |
BEL 9 |
ITA Ret |
SIN 17 |
JPN 9 |
KOR Ret |
IND 11 |
ABU 13 |
BRA 10 |
10th | 37 |
† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
[edit] References
- ^ "Vitaly Petrov Joins Caterham F1 Team". Caterham F1 (Caterham F1 Team). 17 February 2012. http://caterhamf1.com/news/2012/vitaly-petrov-joins-caterham-f1-team. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ "Vitaly Petrov Adria race report". motorsport.com. 11 April 2006. http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=214689&FS=EU3000. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
- ^ a b Noble, Jonathan (31 January 2010). "Q & A with Vitaly Petrov". autosport.com (Haymarket Publishing). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81165. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g http://www,driverdb.com/drivers/467/career/ Career statistics at Driver Database
- ^ "2006 Euroseries 3000". speedsport-magazine.com. Speedsport Magazine. http://www.speedsport-magazine.com/motorsport/formula-level2/euroseries-3000/2006/calendar.html. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "Petrov in as DPR says goodbye to Pla, Direxiv". crash.net. 24 July 2006. http://www.crash.net/gp2/news/67396/1/petrov_in_as_dpr_says_goodbye_to_pla_direxiv.html. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "Campos sign Pantano, Petrov for '07". autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). 31 January 2007. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/56534. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
- ^ "Unexpected win for Petrov.". crash.net. 29 September 2007. http://www.crash.net/gp2/news/68235/1/unexpected_win_for_petrov.html. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "Petrov out of the chaos". crash.net. 22 March 2008. http://www.crash.net/gp2/news/68404/1/petrov_out_of_the_chaos.html. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "Petrov picks up Pantano's pieces in Valencia". crash.net. 23 August 2008. http://www.crash.net/gp2/news/68601/1/petrov_picks_up_pantanos_pieces_in_valencia.html. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "Petrov takes Malaysia sprint race". gp2.gpupdate.net (GPUpdate). 5 April 2009. http://gpupdate.net/en/gp2-news/209760/petrov-takes-malaysia-sprint-race/. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "Petrov claims Saturday thriller". gp2.gpupdate.net (GPUpdate). 6 June 2009. http://gpupdate.net/en/gp2-news/213784/petrov-claims-saturday-thriller/. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "Petrov wins Valencia feature race". gp2.gpupdate.net (GPUpdate). 22 August 2009. http://gpupdate.net/en/gp2-news/218016/petrov-wins-valencia-feature-race/. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- ^ "Renault Formula 1 team tells driver Vitaly Petrov to lose weight". F1SA (FOSA cc). 8 April 2010. http://www.f1sa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21165:f1--renault-formula-1-team-tells-driver-vitaly-petrov-to-lose-weight&catid=1:f1&Itemid=157. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- ^ "Chinese Grand Prix – selected team & driver quotes". formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 18 April 2010. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/4/10681.html. Retrieved 19 April 2010. "I'm happy to finish my first race in Formula 1 and to score my first points."
- ^ English, Steven (14 November 2010). "Petrov wouldn't have risked crash". autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88270. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ Noble, Jonathan (17 November 2010). "Petrov on verge of new Renault deal". autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88359. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
- ^ "Petrov confirmed at Renault until 2012". formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 22 December 2010. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/12/11615.html. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
- ^ Holt, Sarah (27 March 2011). "Vitaly Petrov boosted by Renault podium at Aussie GP". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9437744.stm. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- ^ Strang, Simon (16 April 2011). "Petrov laments qualifying issue". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90758. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
- ^ "Vitaly Petrov released from hospital after Monaco crash". BBC Sport (BBC). 29 May 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/13590705.stm. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ "Petrov launches attack on Renault". Yahoo! Eurosport (TF1 Group). 18 November 2011. http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/18112011/66/petrov-launches-attack-renault.html. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ "Boullier accepts Petrov apology". Google News. Press Association (Google). 18 November 2011. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5h71UeAT5NYeI-7nB_9vyg-W7JUpA?docId=N0738201321632125367A. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ Noble, Jonathan (9 December 2011). "Romain Grosjean joins Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus Renault for 2012". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96698. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ^ Benson, Andrew (17 February 2012). "Vitaly Petrov replaces Jarno Trulli at Caterham for 2012". BBC Sport (BBC). http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17042953. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vitaly Petrov |
- Vitaly Petrov's official site
- Vitaly Petrov career statistics at Driver Database
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- 1984 births
- Living people
- People from Vyborg
- Russian expatriates in Spain
- Russian racing drivers
- British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
- Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
- Italian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
- GP2 Series drivers
- Euro Formula 3000 drivers
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- International Formula Master drivers
- Russian Formula One drivers
- Renault Formula One drivers
- GP2 Asia Series drivers
- European Le Mans Series drivers
