Wednesday, 3 February 2010

Vitaly Petrov becomes first Russian Formula 1 driver after winning Renault race seat

Vitaly Petrov will make Formula 1 history this season by becoming the first Russian to compete in the series after landing a drive with Renault.




Making history: Vitaly Petrov will be the first ever Russian to race in Formula One Last season's GP2 runner-up, whose race seat was confirmed on Sunday at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, is understood to have landed his place on the grid with the team partly thanks to the considerable financial support he has.

The talented 25 year-old from Vyborg will partner Poland's Robert Kubica.



Sport on television Renault also broke new ground when Ho-Pin Tung became the first Chinese driver to be named in an F1 team line-up.

The Dutch-born 27 year-old, already the first Chinese national to drive a grand prix car, will be Renault's official third (reserve) driver this season. Tung will race in GP2.

Renault, predominantly owned by Luxembourg-based private investment firm Genii Capital following their buy-out in early December, also took the wraps off their new challenger, the R30. The team's new livery is now a striking yellow and black.

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