Russia's top drivers in F1
Only four Russian drivers have ever competed in Formula 1. Here’s some overall statistics from all four drivers combined:
| Russian F1 Drivers | |
|---|---|
| Number of F1 drivers | 4 |
| World championship titles | 0 |
| Grand Prix competed in | 209 |
| Race wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 4 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| Russian drivers on current F1 grid | 0 |
The 4 drivers from Russia
Below are details about the four drivers from Russia that have competed in F1. They’re ordered based on their overall success in the sport.
4 - Nikita Mazepin
- Previous teams: Haas
- First season: 2021
- Last season: 2021
- World championships: 0
- Wins: 0
- Podiums: 0
- Pole positions: 0
- Number of GP starts: 21
- DOB: 2nd March 1999
- Hometown: Moscow, Russia
The Russian racing driver Nikita Mazepin is the most recent and probably most famous Russian F1 driver, thanks to how the Netflix series Drive to Survive portrayed him.
Before joining the Formula 1 grid, Mazepin came 2nd in the 2018 GP3 series and 3rd in the 2019 F3 Asian series.
In 2021 he got a seat in the Haas team. His season was overshadowed by a series of incidents and crashes which drew negative attention to his rookie year. The FIA also confirmed he failed a COVID test before the final race at Abu Dhabi, so he had to miss that as well.
His best result of the year was 14th place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Before the start of the 2022 season Haas terminated his contract, and their Russian title sponsor’s contract, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Soon after, Nikita made the news when the EU imposed sanctions on him and his father Dmitry Mazepin, marking the end of Nikita’s career in the sport.
3 - Sergey Sirotkin
- Previous teams: Williams
- First season: 2018
- Last season: 2018
- World championships: 0
- Wins: 0
- Podiums: 0
- Pole positions: 0
- Number of GP starts: 21
- DOB: 27th August 1995
- Hometown: Moscow, Russia
Prior to Formula 1, Sirotkin won the Formula Abarth championship in 2011 and finished third overall in both the 2015 and 2016 GP2 series.
From 2013 to 2017 he was a test and development driver for various F1 teams. Finally in 2018 he got his break, getting the call to drive for Williams for the full season.
His best result of the year came at the Italian Grand Prix where he finished 10th, scoring just 1 point. Unfortunately that was to be the only point he’d ever score, as he was dropped the following year.
2 - Vitaly Petrov
- Previous teams: Renault, Lotus Renault, Caterham
- First season: 2010
- Last season: 2012
- World championships: 0
- Wins: 0
- Podiums: 1
- Pole positions: 0
- Number of GP starts: 57
- DOB: 8th September 1984
- Hometown: Vyborg, Russia
Vitaly Petrov was the first Russian driver ever to compete in F1. He joined the series in 2010 after some reasonable results in various junior motorsport categories. He finished top of the 2005 Russian Formula 1600 champioship and came third in the 2008 GP2 Asia series.
His best Grand Prix result came in the 2011 Australian Grand Prix where he clinched a podium finish, marking a significant achievement as the first Russian driver ever to do so.
2011 was his best season in the sport, finishing 10th overall. After a disappointing year in 2012 with Caterham he left the sport and took up endurance racing, finishing on the podium at LeMans two times.
His 57 Grand Prix mean that of all the racing drivers from Russia, Petrov has the second most GP starts.
1 - Daniil Kvyat
- Previous teams: Toro Rosso, Red Bull, AlphaTauri
- First season: 2014
- Last season: 2020
- World championships: 0
- Wins: 0
- Podiums: 3
- Pole positions: 0
- Number of GP starts: 110
- DOB: 26th April 1994
- Hometown: Ufa, Russia
Daniil Kvyat is the most successful Russian Formula One driver ever.
Before entering F1, Kvyat showcased his talent in various motorsport categories, winning the 2012 Formula Renault 2.0 Alps and 2013 GP3 Series. That meant he was snapped up by Toro Rosso F1 team for the 2014 season.
On his debut race at Melbourne in 2014 he finished in the points in 9th place, which at the time made him the youngest points scorer in Formula 1 ever. He had a strong first season with 5 points finishes and was promoted to Red Bull for the next year.
2015 was his most successful season. He scored his maiden podium at Hungary, a 5th place at his home race at the Russian Grand Prix and finished 7th in the championship, one place ahead of his teammate and Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo.
Despite a 3rd place finish at the Chinese Grand Prix, half way through 2016 he was demoted back to Toro Rosso. After that he managed one further podium in 2019, Toro Rosso’s first since 2008, and finished his career in the sport with Alpha Tauri in 2018.
