Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin confirmed that the country has agreed to sponsor Russian driver Vitaly Petrov as the team-mate of Robert Kubica in Reanult F1 through.
The deal will see the historical yellow Renault car and team carrying the Russian car manufacture LADA logo as a major team's sponsor after the withdraw of ING last season.
Putin said Renault's signing of Petrov is a "great symbol of cooperation" between the French marque and Russia. He continued: "We will sponsor this activity [the F1 team] as a first step, and do not rule out later increasing our financial participation in the project,"
However, Renault's Team Manager Eric Bouiller has already given to Petrov a deadline until mid-season for score points if he is interested to retain his position.
In 2008, Renault bought a 25% stake in Lada's parent company Avtovaz for US$1 billion, and it is reported that Renault's chief executive Carlos Ghosn may now look to increase its involvement.
Similar national sponsorships have been taken place in F1 in the past. In 2002 Malaysian government decided to sponsor Alex Young's F1 career by driving for European Minardi.
