Newsmaker

Putin roars off in F1 race car

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-11-08 10:13

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sits in a car from the Renault Formula One team before test driving it at a racing track in Leningrad Region, November 7, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

MOSCOW - Vladimir Putin just cannot stay away from manly pursuits.

The Russian prime minister took a Formula One race car out for a spin on Sunday, reaching speeds of almost 150 mph (240 kph).

Putin signed a deal last month with Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone to bring F1 racing to Russia starting in 2014, and his televised test drive could help raise the profile of the sport in Russia.

The stunt also matches the action-man image Putin has cultivated over the years, beginning with his startling flight into Chechnya in 2000 in a fighter jet.