As soon as the wave of rumors arose around the former racer Nikita Mazepin, we decided to make a short briefing on the Russian F1 drivers for new Formula 1 fans. Charisma, skill, or luck, who were these drivers, and who was the most successful? Let’s explore this in this article.
For the whole story of Formula 1, there were seven Russian F1 drivers and only one archived success in racing.
#7. Sergey Zlobin
Today, Zlobin is over 50 years old. It is challenging to call him a frontline racer because he spent two seasons with Minardi as a test driver for the 2002 and 2004 seasons, although it is correct to call him the first-ever Russian driver who, one way or another, was involved in Formula 1.
As for his achievements, he became famous in the FIA Endurance Trophy. Sergey Zlobin competed twice in the Le Mans 24-hour Endurance Race and won the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers in 2014.
Back in Formula 1, Zlobin paved the way for the next generation of Russian F1 drivers and played a key role in increasing popularity in his homeland since he tried Formula 1 racing.
#6. Sergey Sirotkin
Perhaps Sergey Sirotkin’s career in Formula 1 is the saddest story among all the Russian F1 drivers, even though he was most promising at the moment when he began.
So, joining the Sauber as a test driver, Sirotkin didn’t take the chance to try the skill even though his testing laps were good. In the following 2015 season, his fans started to wait for the T-minus to start, but it didn’t. He spent over three years before the chance came when Sirotkin took the wheel of the WIlliams F1 car in 2018.
However, it was bad luck. Racing alongside teammate Lance Stroll for Williams, the team struggles with poor results. The 2018 Italian Grand Prix became his best. He finished eleventh, but after Romain Grosjean was disqualified, the Russian F1 driver took the tenth position.
With scoring the only point in Formula 1, Sirotkin ended the season last in the driver’s grid and was forced to go on the bench as a reserve McLaren driver. Then, he left Formula 1 forever.
The fourth place at Spa-Francorchamps in the FIA WEC racing is still his best career result.
#5. Roman Rusinov
Roman Rusinov spent two seasons in 2005-2006 as a test driver for the Midland F1 team. Although he couldn’t achieve more, the experience helped Rusinov to move to the FIA World Endurance Championship for the G-Drive Racing team.
Rusinov has won four international endurance championships and became the first Russian driver to win an international European race.
#4. Mikhail Aleshin
Like Roman Rusinov, Mikhail Aleshin spent just a season in Formula 1 as a test driver. He raced for the Ranault F1 team in 2010 but moved to another racing discipline that brought him real fame.
Aleshin switched to the IndyCar series for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Russian driver had finished second twice: on The 2014 Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston and The 2016 ABC Supply 500 at Pocono.
However, in the FIA WEC, Mikhail Aleshin had the most success. Thus, racing for SMP Racing, which is also a Russian team, alongside other Russian drivers, he finished the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2019 in third place, while in the 2018-2019 FIA WEC season, he ended at 4th overall in driver standings.
#3. Nikita Mazepin
Nikita Mazepin is the most controversial Russian driver of all time. His fame has spread far and wide since he joined the Haas Formula 1 team in 2021. The controversy stems from the fact that no one is sure whether his career achievements resulted from his skills or the staggering budget behind them.
He is famous for two things. His aggressive racing style and passion for fame, even if it has a bitter taste. With six podium finishes and two victories, he was among the most promising in Formula 2, but his driving style and ability to expel rivals was always on the edge of sportsmanlike conduct.
Mazepin, as a driver, also made an ambiguous impression in his homeland.
However, 14th place at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is still his best result in F1. Currently, Mazepin is racing in the Asian Le Mans Series, ranking fourth, and despite many rumors about his comeback to F1, no one in the current team doesn’t want to have common business with the Russian driver.
#2. Vitaly Petrov
In fact, Vitaly Petrov is the first ever Russian Formula 1 driver who had raced with the others on the grid. He had participated in the Renault F1 Team (Lotus) since 2010 and until 2012.
Petrov became the first Russian racer to take the podium in Formula 1. He finished the 2011 Australian Grand Prix third.
However, despite the headline-making beginning, Petrov didn’t outdo the result and switched to the DTM racing series, where he wasn’t successful either. Without any points, the Russian racer moved to the FIA WEC for SMP racing, while third at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2019 is his best motorsport career result outside Formula 1.
However, Vitaly Petrov found popularity in his homeland and brought additional sponsorship, which caused the first-ever Russian Grand Prix in Sochi in 2014.
#1. Daniil Kvyat
Kvyat is deservedly the best-ever Russian F1 driver for two reasons.
First, he achieved more than all other Russian drivers together. Thus, Kvyat joined Toro Rosso (Red Bull’s subsidiary team) in 2014 to replace Daniel Ricciardo, who joined the Red Bull F1 team. Finishing 15th overall in driver’s standings, Kvyat upped to the Red Bull team as Ricciardo’s teammate in the following 2015 season and took second in the 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix.
After the other two podiums, Kvyat ended his Formula 1 career in 2021 and switched to NASCAR and FIA World Endurance Championship.
Last but not least, Daniil Kvyat is famous for his friendly personality and the image of a simple guy, which his fans in his home country like to remember.
In 2016, Sebastian Vettel gave ‘torpedo’ nick to Kvyat. After finding a gap on the internal track, Kvyat overtook Vettel, who crashed into his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen so that despite pole position, the German was quite aggressive.
Since 2016, Daniil Kvyat has been in a relationship with Kelly Piquet, the daughter of legendary driver Nelson Piquet. Piquet gave birth to Penelope. They broke up after four years.
Summing up
- Overall, there were seven different Russian drivers in Formula 1, and the only one became the best; however, each played a specific role in the sport.
- For example, after Sergey Zlobin showed that Russian drivers could compete in Formula 1, many talented athletes came to the sport.
- After the unsuccessful participation of Mikhail Aleshin and Roman Rusinov, Vitaly Petrov started Formula 1, inflating new investments and fan base to the sport and forcing the Russian Grand Prix to join F1.
- However, Daniil Kvyat is considered to be the best-ever Russian F1 driver. Many people compare Kvyat with Mazepin, but these two have opposite personalities. Modest Kvyat took podiums, keeping calm about his personal life, while attention-grabbing Mazepin didn’t score any points, having too much aggressive style.
- Despite every one of the Russian F1 drivers having financial funds behind their career, they all proved that money is not always decided in Formula 1, while there is always a place for personal qualities and pieces of luck.
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