Vitaly Petrov

Vitaly Petrov
Petrov at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Nationality	Russian
Born	Vitaly Aleksandrovich Petrov (1984-09-08) 8 September 1984 (age 32) Vyborg, Soviet Union
DTM career
Debut season	2014
Current team	Mücke Motorsport
Car no.	20
Starts	10
Championships	0
Wins	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	23rd in 2014
Finished last season	23rd (0 pts) 2014
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	2010–2012
Teams	Renault, Caterham
Entries	58 (57 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	1
Career points	64
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
First entry	2010 Bahrain Grand Prix
Last entry	2012 Brazilian Grand Prix

Vitaly Aleksandrovich Petrov (Russian: Вита́лий Алекса́ндрович Петро́в; IPA: [vʲɪˈtalʲɪ ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ pʲɪˈtrof], born 8 September 1984) is a Russian racing driver who drove in Formula One for Caterham in 2012 and Renault in 2010 and 2011. Born in Vyborg, he is known as the "Vyborg Rocket" (Russian: Вы́боргская Раке́та; IPA: [ˈvibɔrɡskɐjɐ rɐˈkʲetɐ]) in Russia. He was the first Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship.

Unlike most top drivers, Petrov did not begin his career in karting, as there was very little motorsport where he lived. He began competing in motorsport in 1998, when he took part in rally sprints and ice races. Afterwards he began competing in the Russian Lada Cup in 2001. He remained in the series for 2002 dominating the championship, winning each round to amass the maximum points total of 500.

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, 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. He also made his debut in Euro Formula 3000 at Cagliari.