As we already know, Vitaly Petrov is set to become the very first ever “Rooskie” to compete in Formula 1 when the Russian debutant takes his place upon the starting grid in Bahrain…
Thus it should come as little surprise that ‘Mother Russia has also struck a deal with Petrov’s Team Renault to provide signage of Russia’s Automotive brand Lada, as after all Renault previously purchased a 25% stake in Lada’s parent company Avtovaz for $1 billion in 2008, with Russia seeking to improve its automobile production capabilities, as Renault is set to introduce several models in Russia, hoping to take advantage of the countries own Cash for Clunkers program which has just begun… As Renault’s cooperative effort will boost Lada plant production to 160,000 vehicles annually, as Renault competes against Ford for the valuable market share.
Lada will be featured on the Renault R30 chassis along with Vitaly Petrov’s ‘Kit, i.e.; overalls & crash bucket, yet the Reggie’s sidepods still seem to have an abundance of sponsorship space available, although I’d expect this to be somewhat remedied this weekend, eh?
Meanwhile, also hoping to cash in on the veritable Ruble bonanza between Renault and Russia is none other then Uncle Bernaughty, (Ecclestone) who hopes for further backing of his sport by Vladimir Putin will enable him to finally crack the Iron Curtain and get his long sought after Moscow Grand Prix installed…
