Vitaly Petrov in the deep end

Vitaly Petrov, even with a little experience in Formula 1, managed to show himself at the level this Friday. Certainly, the qualifications and the race will be better judges of the peace. But the Russian, whom many detractors saw as being abandoned, managed to hold his place.

Eighth time of the second free practice session, the Russian driver finished between two drivers Ferrari. At the end of his day, he was especially happy to have taken part in his first tests during an F1 race weekend. “ Being able to get behind the wheel of the car during a Grand Prix weekend for the first time was a great feeling », recognizes Petrov.

But, far from these considerations, the Russian had to forget his emotion to concentrate on developing the Renault R30. “ We had a well-rounded technical program, so I got to work immediately », Confirms the GP2 Series vice-champion.

« We had a few small issues at the start of the day, but this is the race weekend and we will work hard to progress as quickly as possible. Qualifying will be interesting », concludes Petrov, who will be the first Russian driver to start an F1 Grand Prix on Sunday.