Evgeny Restov

Evgeny Restov is a Russian racing driver who competed in F1. On the back of his 2009 GP2 title, Restov secured a testing berth with BMW-Sauber, which in 2011 became a race seat with the struggling USF1 team. Despite not being one of the top teams, Restov secured a small stash of points and acquitted himself well, but was unable to prevent the team's slide into bankruptcy. For 2012, he was signed by Sauber, thus returning to the team whom he tested for in 2010. The car was instantly on the pace, and Restov was able to challenge the front-runners consistently at the start of the season, in the process winning the second round in Istanbul. In the process, he became the first Russian driver to win in F1, and at a stroke became Russia's most successful driver in the sport ever. Restov's fine form continued, and he picked up 8 podiums in the season, winning again in Uruguay, as well as picking up his first fastest laps and pole positions en route to 4th in the Drivers Championship, which helped Sauber secure an unlikely and famous victory in the Constructors Championship. For 2013, Restov agreed to remain at Sauber.