2002-2010: KartingI started with karting when I was 7 years old. I was the champion of Moscow in 2006 and Russia in 2007-08. The next step for me was European karting: I took part in various international competitions, where I went from junior karts to KF3 and KF2 categories in 2010.
2010-2011: Formula AbarthI made my debut in single-seaters at the age of 14, driving a season in the Formula Abarth championship. I managed to score points in my very first race at the Autodromo di Vallelunga.
I remained in the Formula Abarth for the second season and achieved valuable for me results: I finished second in the Italian Series and won the European Series title!
2012: Auto GP, Italian Formula 3 and debut in Formula Renault 3.5 SeriesI switched to the Auto GP World Series in 2012. I finished third in the overall standings with two victories at Valencia and Sonoma and seven podiums that year.
I participated in the Italian Formula 3 in the same year. I won two races: at the Hungaroring and Monza and I stood on the podium four more times.
I also made my Formula Renault 3.5 debut at my home track, Moscow Raceway.
2013: Formula Renault 3.5 and the beginning of cooperation with Sauber F1 TeamIn 2013, I drove a full season in the World Series by Renault 3.5 for the ISR Racing team. I took podiums at the Motorland Aragón and Hungaroring with another three-point-scoring finish.
I joined the Sauber F1 Team as a development driver in July 2013.
2014: Formula Renault 3.5 and test-driver of Sauber F1 TeamIn 2014, I joined the Fortec Motorsport team in the World Series by Renault 3.5. We had a great potential, but due to various reasons we had to retire in five races of the season, but whenever I finished a race, I was inside the points, missing the points only once. It is especially worth noting my home round at the Moscow Raceway. I will never forget taking pole and victory in front of the Russian fans! Also that year, I was a test driver for the Sauber F1 Team. I took part in the Formula 1 tests in Bahrain and obtained the Super License, driving 300 km. I made my race weekend debut in the free practice at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi!
Also that year, I was a test driver for the Sauber F1 Team. I took part in the Formula 1 tests in Bahrain and received a super license, surpassing the required 300km. I made my race weekend debut in free practice at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi!
2015: GP2 SeriesI made my debut in the GP2 series with the Rapax team in 2015. That year I had a series of podiums on European circuits. I won the feature race at Silverstone, taking pole the day before. I stood on the podium in Monaco, Austria and two times in Hungary. I took third place in the overall standings and was the best rookie of the year in the series!
2016: GP2 Series and test-driver of Renault Sport F1 TeamI continued my GP2 Series participation with the ART Grand Prix in 2016. I made two mistakes and didn’t score any points having a pace to fight for the victories in the first two rounds. Two podiums in Baku, as well as two victories and two podiums in Hungary and Germany allowed us to keep the lead in the overall standings before the summer break of the championship. Then we had technical issues with a car at Monza, Spa-Francorchamps and Sepang. We managed to take only two podiums at the last rounds of the championship and therefore repeated our last year’s result, taking third place in the overall standings.
I joint Renault F1 Team as a test driver in the same year and took part in the first practice session at the Russian Grand Prix.
2017: Reserve driver of Renault Sport F1 TeamIn 2017, I continued working with Renault F1 Team. My program included plenty of work at the team’s factory, including development of the car, driving on team’s simulator many test days and FP1 practices.
The first time I got behind the wheel at the official tests in Bahrain. During the 2017 season, I participated four times in the F1 first free practice sessions (Russia, Spain, Austria and Malaysia). I had 6 testing days driving the Renault (Lotus) E20, took part in the Festival of Speed in Goodwood and competed a demonstration run at Silverstone in the Renault RE40.
I also returned to the FIA Formula 2 Championship for the race weekend in Baku and was able to score points in both races of the weekend.
I participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of the SMP Racing #27 squad in the LMP2 category.
At the end of the Formula 1 2017 season, I received an invitation from the Williams Martini Racing to do Pirelli test, which took place at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
2018: Williams Martini Racing driverIn January 2018, it was announced that I will make my debut in Formula 1 with Williams Martini Racing.
Straight from the pre-season tests we realized that it will be a difficult year. Unfortunately, our car was missing a lot of speed compared to others. Only in the second half of the season I was able to earn my first point in Formula 1 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. I managed to outqualify with a score of 13:8. Despite all the problems of this season, I enjoyed working with the team. At the end of the season, together with SMP Racing, we decided not to race with Williams in 2019.
At the end of the Formula 1 season, I received an offer from Audi to participate in the DTM rookie tests in Jerez.
2019: SMP Racing car #17 driver in the FIA WEC, Reserve driver for the Renault F1 Team and McLarenI was invited by Mahindra Racing to take part in the FIA Formula E test, which took place on the track in Marrakesh (Morocco) in January. Then it was announced that I would drive the car #17 the SMP Racing team at the FIA World Endurance Championship.
I returned to the Renault F1 Team as a reserve driver in February. During the season I was working on helping the team with the development of a current car and was the first F1 driver to complete the first Pirelli's 18-inch F1 tyre test built for 2021 regulation. Also in June, I joined McLaren as a reserve driver.
2020: SMP Racing car #72 driver in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, Reserve driver for the Renault DP World F1 TeamIn the 2020 season, I took part in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup as part of the SMP Racing team in a Ferrari F488 GT3 Evo 2020 #72 with Davide Rigon and Miguel Molina.
I also continued as a reserve driver for the Renault DP World F1 Team and opened a karting academy together with SMP Racing.