We now have a better understanding of the nomination of Vitaly Petrov as the teammate of Robert Kubica at Renault F1 Team this season.

The Renault F1 Team confirmed Thursday a cooperation agreement that will see branding from Lada, Russia’s leading automotive make, feature on the chassis of the Renault F1 Team R30 race cars during the 2010 season.


Lada branding will also appear on the overalls and team uniform of 25-year-old Vitaly Petrov, who will make history this year as the first ever Russian F1 driver.

This landmark agreement was formally signed in Moscow last Monday, March 1. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also gave the agreement his public endorsement. So this is big news in Russia.

It must be understood that Renault bought a 25 percent stake in Lada parent AvtoVAZ for $1 billion in 2008. So Petrov was not selected (over Jacques Villeneuve) just because he’s a reasonably good driver…