Petrov Vitaly(Russia, 08/09/1984)

Vitaly Petrov (born on 8 September 1984 in Vyborg, Soviet Union, now Russia) is a former Russian racing driver who made history as the first Russian driver to contest a full season in Formula 1.

After starting in karting in his home country, Petrov established himself in European junior formulae in the mid-2000s. In 2006 he won the Formula Renault 3.5 Asia Series with Epsilon Euskadi and in the same period achieved strong results in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. The major step forward came with the GP2 Series, where he competed from 2007 to 2009, scoring several victories and finishing the 2009 season as runner-up overall with Barwa Addax Team.

His Formula 1 debut came in 2010 with Renault, marking a historic moment for Russian motorsport. In his rookie season he scored important points and stood out for several solid performances, earning confirmation for the 2011 season. That year he achieved his best career result with third place at the Australian Grand Prix, the first and so far only podium for a Russian driver in Formula 1. Also in 2011 he played a key role in the title fight by defending decisively in the closing laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, influencing the outcome of the championship.

In 2012 he moved to Caterham, contesting his final season in the Circus. Despite an uncompetitive car, Petrov achieved the team’s best-ever qualifying result at Interlagos and finished the championship ahead of his team-mate. At the end of the season he left Formula 1.

After his time in the Circus, Petrov continued his career in endurance racing, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with SMP Racing. Between 2014 and 2021 he took part in several editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and achieved notable results in the private LMP1 class, contributing to the Russian team’s front-running performances in the world championship.

After stepping away from full-time racing, Petrov has progressively withdrawn from international competition.

GP Results

GP/Points Graph

Year	Team	Chassis	Points
2011	Renault	R31	37
2010	Renault	R30	27

* World Championships with at least 1 point won (since 2001)

Year	Team	Teammate	Win
2012	Caterham F1 Team (CT01)	Kovalainen H.	7 VS 13
2011	Renault F1 Team (R31)	Heidfeld N.	8 VS 3
2010	Renault F1 Team (R30)	Kubica R.	2 VS 17
Total			17 VS 33

Grand Prix	Team	Chassis	Pos.
Brazilian GP 2011	Renault F1 Team	R31	10
Japanese GP 2011	Renault F1 Team	R31	9
Belgian GP 2011	Renault F1 Team	R31	9
German GP 2011	Renault F1 Team	R31	10
Canadian GP 2011	Renault F1 Team	R31	5
Turkish GP 2011	Renault F1 Team	R31	8
Chinese GP 2011	Renault F1 Team	R31	9
Australian GP 2011	Renault F1 Team	R31	3
Abu Dhabi GP 2010	Renault F1 Team	R30	6
Belgian GP 2010	Renault F1 Team	R30	9
Hungarian GP 2010	Renault F1 Team	R30	5
German GP 2010	Renault F1 Team	R30	10
Chinese GP 2010	Renault F1 Team	R30	7

* Grand prix finishes in the top 10 (since 2001)

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