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Petrov stands down as driver steward due to father's death
Vitaly Petrov has stood down as a driver steward at the Portuguese Grand Prix following the sudden death of his father.
Reports in Russia claim that Alexander Petrov was found dead in his villa near the city of Vyborg, with some suggesting he was assassinated. Shortly after the news broke, the FIA announced Petrov would not be continuing as driver steward “due to a personal bereavement”, with a replacement being introduced for Sunday’s event.
“The FIA confirms that, due to a personal bereavement, the Driver Steward for the 2020 FIA Formula 1 Portuguese Grand Prix, Vitaly Petrov, will not continue with his duties for the remainder of the weekend,” an FIA statement read.
“The thoughts of the FIA are with Vitaly and his family at this time.
“Bruno Correia, Safety Car Driver in the FIA Formula E Championship and FIA WTCR will take over the position.”
Former Lotus Renault and Caterham Formula 1 driver Petrov was a controversial choice for the driver steward position this weekend following recent comments about the Black Lives Matter and We Race As One movements.
His father was an elected official for Vyborg City Council with a number of local business interests, making him an influential figure in the region.
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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