Remember them? The four Russian drivers to ever compete in Formula 1

Before Nikita Mazepin made his Formula 1 debut, the sport was not unfamiliar to Russian drivers.

Given the country's political climate (then and now), many sporting codes were reluctant to engage with the country on an event level and sign its athletes to contracts.

When this mindset changed, the first Russian driver entered the sport in 2010. Since then, four drivers from the former Soviet Union entered F1, with the last being Mazepin.

And as we know, Mazepin unceremoniously exited the sport after the Haas team terminated his and title-sponsor Uralkali's contracts. The decision came in the wake of Russia's decision to invade Ukraine and declare war on its neighbour.

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Vitaly Petrov: 2010-2012

Many fans will quickly recall Vitaly Petrov preventing Fernando Alonso from winning the 2010 F1 championship in Abu Dhabi. And sadly, that is just about the only true highlight of this Russian's F1 career.

Petrov debuted at the Bahrain Grand Prix, racing for the Renault team. He did not have the greatest debut season, but it was miles better than what others had to endure. That year, in 2010, his best result was a fifth-placed finish at the Hungarian GP, and a 13th placed finish in the championship standings after the season's end in Abu Dhabi.

Renault, now called Lotus-Renault, retained Petrov for the 2011 season, with the driver kickstarting the new season with a third-placed finish at the Australian GP. By the end of 2011, Petrov and Lotus-Renault parted ways, and the Russian signed with Caterham for the upcoming season. Unfortunately, Caterham was not a competitive team, and Petrov failed to score a single point that year.

He was out of a drive and