Formula One drivers from the Russian Federation
There have been two Formula One drivers from the Russian Federation, both of whom have raced in the 2010s and both having scored podium positions in Grands Prix.
Current drivers
In 2014 Daniil Kvyat became the second Russian to compete in Formula One. He debuted with Toro Rosso at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix, scoring 9th place - an equal best result for the season matched in Britain and Belgium. He finished 15th in the championship. He was hired by Red Bull Racing for the 2015 season, finishing 7th in the championship with a career-best 2nd in Hungary. Despite finishing 3rd in China the following year, after his home race he was demoted back to Toro Rosso and was subsequently replaced by Max Verstappen.
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Former drivers
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When Vitaly Petrov made his Grand Prix debut for Renault at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix he became the first driver from Russia or the former Soviet Union to compete in Formula One. His debut season yielded 13th place in the championship and a best result of 5th in Hungary - however he gained notoriety for blocking Fernando Alonso in Abu Dhabi and costing the Spaniard an almost certain title win. His 2011 season with the newly re-branded Lotus-Renault team began strongly with 3rd place at the season-opener in Australia but the car failed to maintain consistent competitiveness and he ended the season 10th in the standings. For 2012 he was dropped by Lotus and picked up by Caterham. With an inferior car he failed to score a point all season, but did finish a strong 11th in his final race in Brazil. He was not retained for the 2013 season.
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Timeline
| 1950-2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petrov | |||||||
| Kvyat | |||||||