First Russian Formula One driver

Despite skepticism on the part of foreign bookmakers, Russian autoracing enthusiasts are looking forward to a resounding success by this country's first driver in Formula One in a Grand Prix race in Bahrain on Sunday.

His name is Vitali Petrov, his sponsorship logo is Lada, and his team is Renault, now a big shareholder in the AvtoVAZ makers of Lada cars.

Mr Igor Burenkov is in charge of external relations at AvtoVAZ:

"The Lada brand is a big seller throughout Eastern Europe and Latin America. A contract with Venezuela is in the pipeline, as are renewed sales to Cuba. AvtoVAZ also runs an assembly operation in Egypt. Turning up on the widely watched Formula One is bound to be a successful promotion exercise".

It is also symbolic of rapid technological innovation at AvtoVAZ. The technology is mostly from Renault-Nissan. Tested in races, it will subsequently go to soup up run-of-the-mill vehicles that roll off Lada assembly lines. Russia is on track to become home to competitive carmakers, as well as modern oil, gas, aerospace and defence industries.