Ralph Firman's hopes of staying in Formula One next season could be under threat from a Russian teenager who used to race Ladas.
Firman's boss Eddie Jordan is interested in Vitaly Petrov following his meteoric rise through the motorsport ranks and he had the 19-year-old watched at today's Cagliari Grand Prix in Sardinia.
Jordan, who gave six-time world champion Michael Schumacher his first start, has yet to finalise his driver line-up for 2004 as he looks for a financial boost for his cash-strapped team.
Taking Petrov would give Jordan a foothold in the Russian market which, as billionaire Roman Abramovich has proved at Chelsea, is awash with money.
Petrov saw an F1 car for this first time only yesterday when Italy's Jarno Trulli did a handful of demonstration laps in his Renault around the street circuit of the Mediterranean island.
"My dream is now to get into Formula One," said Petrov, whose manager has already held talks with Jordan. "It would be fantastic to be the first Russian in F1."
Petrov, who comes from a tiny village near St Petersburg, launched his career in the Russian Lada Championship where he won every race before progressing to the Italian Formula Renault series.
Last weekend he won the opening round of the winter series at Donington Park, beating drivers with vastly more experience of single-seater racing, to earn a drive in this weekend's Euro F3000 grand prix in Cagliari.
"He is inexperienced but he is a special talent," said team chief and former racer Vincenzo Sospiri. "What he has done in a short space of time is incredible and I hope we can keep him next year."
Firman, who scored one point in his debut season, is desperate to be retained by the Silverstone-based outfit next season.
Jordan has two seats to fill with Giancarlo Fisichella having left for Sauber and the Irishman has also been linked with Allan McNish, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Nick Heidfeld.
