1188 replies to this topic

[jeze]

Now that he's confirmed, apparently as the first (Russian) F1 driver in the history of the sport according to AUTOSPORT I think it's time that he gets his own thread.

First of all, I predict that Kubica will destroy Petrov, and then thank his lucky stars that he didn't have to face a top-line driver, arguably saving his reputation. To me it's quite clear that Petrov is no man for a factory team, and he'll have his hands full if he's to outqualify Kubica a single time. That said, he looked good in his final GP2 season, but it was eveident that he was absoulutely no match for Nico Hülkenberg, and he was nearly always down on Grosjean's pace...

Well, best of luck to the guy

Edited by Victor_RO, 31 January 2010 - 16:21.

[Disgrace]

I think he'll do better than you suggest. He might flop like Bourdais or Piquet, who knows, but I think he will do well.

He could hold his own against Hulkenberg last year. In Valencia and Nurburgring, he was running ahead of the Wunderkind II and making no mistakes. He never looked under pressure enough to fall off the road to his credit.

And he was robbed of results last year, notably at aforementioned Nurburgring for an utterly daft drive-thru for a crime that didn't really exist in the eyes of any self-respecting motor racing fan.

Kubica better dominate him though or there will be questions, even if Petrov is being heroic.

Good luck, first F1 driver!

Edited by Disgrace, 31 January 2010 - 16:01.

[Risil]

Petrov is from Vyborg, which basically makes him an honorary Finn. Ergo, he will be very fast and defeat Kubica.

[Sausage]

But seriously, first Russian F1 driver = good for F1

[MinT]

But seriously, first Russian F1 driver = good for F1

Yeah F1 needs some serious drug money.

[ivanalesi]

Petrov will have a long learning curve and he will be a very stable driver, not making mistakes or crashing.

[jeze]

Yeah F1 needs some serious drug money.

Haha

[jeze]

Petrov is from Vyborg, which basically makes him an honorary Finn. Ergo, he will be very fast and defeat Kubica.

What the ****, Vyborg should belong to Sweden

Edited by jeze, 31 January 2010 - 16:15.

[domhnall]

I thought he did pretty well in GP2 last year, certainly better than I was expecting before the season began. I'm expecting him to do ok in f1, but not much more.

[Risil]

What the f*ck, Vyborg should belong to Sweden

As should Norway, Germany and Minnesota. What happened to you guys?

[Anssi]

Petrov is from Vyborg, which basically makes him an honorary Finn. Ergo, he will be very fast and defeat Kubica.

Judging by his looks and name he is definitely Russian. Don't call him a Finn when he clearly isn't. I have nothing against the guy and hope he does well in F1 but let's not get silly with that "honorary Finn" thing.

[Risil]

Judging by his looks and name he is definitely Russian. Don't call him a Finn when he clearly isn't. I have nothing against the guy and hope he does well in F1 but let's not get silly with that "honorary Finn" thing.

Yes, that comment may have been made humorously.

[Anssi]

Jeze I do not like the way you write your opening posts to a thread. This is not the first time I feel like this.

Give the guy a chance to show what he can do with a F1 car first before starting to bash him.

If you start a Vitaly Petrov thread then why not start it positively instead or don't start it at all - the guy just got a job as a F1 driver and a thread carrying his name in the title starts with a bash and he has not been given a chance to show what he can do with a F1 car.

Edited by Anssi, 31 January 2010 - 16:38.

[Anssi]

Yes, that comment may have been made humorously.

No offence taken at all from that comment I just thought it's better to make it very clear that the guy is not a Finn even though he is from an ex-Finnish city.

[dau]

Either he is genuinely destroyed by Kubica or people will probably start reevaluating Kubicas talent. I think it will turn out to be like Alonso vs. Grosjean last year.

[potmotr]

Petrov deserves a spot in F1.

He's shown good speed in GP2.

Will be interesting to see how he does.

[Jackmancer]

Isn't his sponsor Gazprom? Those pricks that didn't pay Super Aguri?

[Beef Eater]

Isn't his sponsor Gazprom? Those pricks that didn't pay Super Aguri?

They did not pay to Minardi when there was another first Russian (test) pilot.

[YoungGun]

Petrov deserves a spot in F1.

He's shown good speed in GP2.

Will be interesting to see how he does.

You mean Paytrov

[Galka]

Isn't his sponsor Gazprom? Those pricks that didn't pay Super Aguri?

That's interesting that there were no Russian sponsors on Renault livery.
I expected MegaFon, who sponsored Petrov in GP2, but no Russian companies showed up.

[potmotr]

You mean Paytrov

Yep, the pay driver has well and truly returned to F1.

To a greater or lesser extend Petrov, de la Rosa, Kobayashi, Lopez, Senna and Sutil are all contributing cash to their teams this year.

[YoungGun]

Yep, the pay driver has well and truly returned to F1.

To a greater or lesser extend Petrov, de la Rosa, Kobayashi, Lopez and Sutil are all contributing cash to their teams this year.

Corrected Senna is driving for free.

[potmotr]

Corrected Senna is driving for free.

I'm sure he's not getting paid, but he brings a budget doesn't he?

[YoungGun]

I'm sure he's not getting paid, but he brings a budget doesn't he?

No, I read he gets to keep any sponsorship money he attracts.

[Galka]

Some rumours from Russian F1 commentator, who has some connections with Petrov management.
- Contract condition for Vitaly is that he must collect only 25% of Kubica's points or more (so he doesn't have the burden of expectations)
- the benefit that Renault gets from hiring Petrov is that Renault owns AVTOVAZ (the company that produces LADA) and has opened several Renault factories in Russia, so Renault can use Petrov as their "ambassador" in Russia, since their presence in Russia is so strong.

[kismet]

Depending on how competitive (or not) Renault turn out to be, that 25 % or more could be quite a tall order... Especially if Kubica really is as special as some connoisseurs of fine driving insist he is.

[jeze]

No matter the car, Kubica will score at least 40 points with the new system. Last year, he would have got 47 of them... That means that Petrov has to be in the top eight a couple of times... Possibly feasible. But much as I think Kubica is no Alonso, then Petrov is definitely no Piquet either (I'm sure NP is faster).

[Walsingham]

I dont think that GP2 performance is good predictor of F1 performance. We had couple of GP2 masters who didnt impress and guys who werent best in lower series and shone in F1 like Kobayashi. Interesting thing is that from what I read about Petrov on the Internets he never did carts which is quite unusual for F1 drivers.

Anyway good luck to him and Renault.

[Xaus]

Wow, the first post is so bitter that it's practically spraying venom into my eyes just reading it. Subtle way to start a bash thread.

[VoidNT]

Isn't his sponsor Gazprom? Those pricks that didn't pay Super Aguri?

It seems Petrov doesn't have a sponsor in a conventional sense. Most likely he has a patron who is so important that he can convince Gazprom and Sberbank to pay 15 mln euros without expecting anything back, at least in a form of public advertisement.

Renault might count on Petrov to strengthen their position on Russian market, but obviously the money was the first reason why they hired him.

Anyway, it's a great day for all people in Russia who love Formula One. Even during the Soviet era there was a lot of people who followed F1 by reading magazines from Eastern Europe. The number of fans has grown exponentially when F1 appeared on the Russian TV. You can just wonder why so many young people got interested in F1 (and many are girls and young women) without having a single real-life attachment with the sport. I think Russia was the country with the biggest number of F1 fans which never had its own driver there, now their passion and enthusiasm will be rewarded.

[Lazarus II]

Petrov deserves a spot in F1.

He's shown good speed in GP2.

Will be interesting to see how he does.

With €15m he was bound to get one

[Paolo]

I read in the Renault launch interview that Petrov's father has been personally funding his whole career... what kind of business does he own?

[Crazy Ninja]

I read in the Renault launch interview that Petrov's father has been personally funding his whole career... what kind of business does he own?

A pretty big one i'd imagine..... (apologies, terrible joke i know!)

I look forward to seeing how he does. Its not crystal clear how GP2 drivers are going to perform in F1 just by looking at their results in GP2. Kobayashi is a perfect example. Never really bothered the front end of the grid in GP2 and two races into his F1 career, he's already got more fans than half the drivers on the grid!

Edited by Crazy Ninja, 31 January 2010 - 20:39.

[Lazarus II]

Kobayashi is a perfect example. Never really bothered the front end of the grid in GP2 and two races into his F1 career, he's already got more fans than half the drivers on the grid!

Because he drove like a crazy ninja....hey wait just a minute, Kamui is that you?

[Galka]

I read in the Renault launch interview that Petrov's father has been personally funding his whole career... what kind of business does he own?

I don't think so. Petrov has had some Russian sponsors both when he was racing in Russia and abroad, for example, Russian communications company MegaFon.
He's not Nelsinho Piquet, you know.

Oksana Kosachenko, his manager, contributed a lot to Vitaly's career. She is a TV presenter in Russia, a semi-professional racer and a very energetic person.
Here's she, strolling down F1 paddock.
http://autobuy.ru/au...sachenko_03.jpg

Edited by Galka, 31 January 2010 - 21:52.

[MadYarpen]

I read in the Renault launch interview that Petrov's father has been personally funding his whole career... what kind of business does he own?

If so, it makes him a little similar to Kubica. And if it is true, than huge respect.

[Captain Tightpants]

Yes, now that Jenson Button is World Champion, I have an underdog driver to support again!

[johnap]

He has potential and the ability to drive, you don't finish second in Gp2 by accident, but you need to be able to handle the spotlight of F1.

He is also carrying the hopes of a nation on his back.

I'm going to wait and see with Petrov.

[MadYarpen]

forgot to add that looking at him makes me wish to drink 1L of vodka with him. Likeable guy from these few interviews so far.

[Sausage]

I find he would win the "who is the creepiest looking F1 driver" contest handsdown. He could easily play in a zombie movie without makeup. Crazy Ninja Vs. Creepy Zombie, battle of the F1 rookies, I suppose

[ivanalesi]

I don't think so. Petrov has had some Russian sponsors both when he was racing in Russia and abroad, for example, Russian communications company MegaFon.
He's not Nelsinho Piquet, you know.

Oksana Kosachenko, his manager, contributed a lot to Vitaly's career. She is a TV presenter in Russia, a semi-professional racer and a very energetic person.
Here's she, strolling down F1 paddock.
http://autobuy.ru/au...sachenko_03.jpg

From what I heard about a month ago, Vitaly is speaking the truth. It's just that his father wasn't always able to help him. He had some on and off seasons in FR2.0 and F3000, it's truly impressive how he reached F1 so fast. Since he has started racing, there are 3 or 4 seasons in his short career spend racing Ladas
Anyway, he's quite a smart boy and so is his manager. The way he was choosing his teams in GP2, always with experienced drivers and betting on continuity helped him a lot.

[MadYarpen]

imagine what will he look like after race in bahrain

[Captain Tightpants]

imagine what will he look like after race in bahrain

He's raced there before. GP2 Asia does the rounds of Bahrain and all those circuits. He hasn't done the new section and he probably hasn't done a race as long as a Formula 1 event, but he has raced there. He says that's why he's not focusing on the simulator so much: he knows Bahrain and the team want him to concentrate on the circuit and the car; it's ater the race that he'll start racking up simulator hours.

[MadYarpen]

He's raced there before. GP2 Asia does the rounds of Bahrain and all those circuits. He hasn't done the new section and he probably hasn't done a race as long as a Formula 1 event, but he has raced there. He says that's why he's not focusing on the simulator so much: he knows Bahrain and the team want him to concentrate on the circuit and the car; it's ater the race that he'll start racking up simulator hours.

I was just kidding about how he looks. Some of you guys seem to think he is ugly, i have no opinion here but if he is indeed, after hot race he will look like a zombie for sure;)

[ZenSpeed]

Yeah F1 needs some serious drug money.

More like 2nd oil producer in the world.....what drugs are grown and produced in Russia, by the way?

[ZenSpeed]

What the ****, Vyborg should belong to Sweden

Both of you chill, it simply belongs to Russia

Edited by ZenSpeed, 01 February 2010 - 00:12.

[Risil]

Both of you chill, it simply belongs to Russia

And there I was thinking it belonged to Vyborgians...

[ZenSpeed]

Jeze I do not like the way you write your opening posts to a thread. This is not the first time I feel like this.

Give the guy a chance to show what he can do with a F1 car first before starting to bash him.

If you start a Vitaly Petrov thread then why not start it positively instead or don't start it at all - the guy just got a job as a F1 driver and a thread carrying his name in the title starts with a bash and he has not been given a chance to show what he can do with a F1 car.

I totally agree with you, but keep in mind, these are the same guys who say alonso/kimi/hamilton suck, depending on who they cheer, and these are WDC drivers. If they get no respect, imagine a poor rookie

[ZenSpeed]

And there I was thinking it belonged to Vyborgians...

a subgroup of the first category

[ZenSpeed]

No offence taken at all from that comment I just thought it's better to make it very clear that the guy is not a Finn even though he is from an ex-Finnish city.

Your clarification was spot on. It doesn't matter to whom a city or even a country belong prior to the rise of the USSR, the Kremlin made it a policy to mix all countries (such as the 3 Baltic republics, but even the southern and asian ones, like Turkmenistan, etc) with Russian ethnic people. Anywhere, eventually, there would be a 10-20% minority of Russian etnicity, which of course was the ruling class. So, Petrov is obviously Russian, as his name clearly shows