Putin Drives an F1 Car

Former KGB agent, former Russian president and a man pretty much used to driving, flying or piloting man-made contraptions, there are few things the current prime minister of Russia hasn't done. He flew fighter jets, fired bazookas, led a country through perhaps its most troubled years and, the trickiest of all, taught former US President George W. Bush the intricate aspects of driving a vintage.

Until now though, Vladimir Putin didn't drive an F1 car. Courtesy of Carlos Ghosn who, as Autoblog reports, brought Renault's Formula 1 car to Russia, where he was meeting AvtoVaz executives in light of a possible increase in the French's involvement, Putin managed to do that as well.

According to siberianlight.net, Putin gave a heart attack to his security staff as he sped down a straight line at speeds of about 150 mph (241 km/h). The prime minister appeared to be happy with the outcome, as at the end said “for the first time is good.”

In the video, we can see Putin already in the cockpit and listening carefully to the instructions received from the Renault F1 staff. On his head, a helmet painted in the Russian flag's colors, the word “Russia” spelled in... Russian.

According to emg.rs, Renault's F1 show team was in Russia this weekend, where it presented its three F1 cars. The country is currently considering hosting a Grand Prix event. Last month, the same Putin and representatives of the FIA signed an agreement which will see Russia host its first F1 event sometime in 2014.