Sergey Zlobin (born 29 May 1970) is a Russian racing driver who served has a test driver for the Minardi Formula One team in 2002 and 2004. He was the first Russian driver to test a Formula One car.
He began racing in 1996 at the age of 26 in rallycross and various other forms of motorsport. In 1998, he made his way into the Russian Formula 3 Championship before moving to the Euro Formula 3000 Championship in 2001.
In 2002, he was signed to Minardi as a test driver as part of a sponsorship deal with the Russian energy corporation Gazprom. However, the company only paid 2 million of the promised 9 million dollar deal, resulting in the agreement being terminated. This caused Zlobin to be dropped from the team and also prevented him from obtaining an FIA Super Licence. After taking a off of racing, he returned to Minardi as a test driver again in 2004, but was never able to earn a permanent seat on the team.
After failing to make it into Formula One, Zlobin moved to endurance racing with the Russian SMP Racing team, winning the LMP2 championship of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2014.
In 2007, Zlobin was the victim of a car bomb in an apparent murder attempt at his home in Moscow. He escaped the incident with only minor leg injuries.[1]
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | Pts. | Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 |  KL Minardi Asiatech
|
Minardi-Asiatech | Test Driver | |
| 2004 | Minardi Cosworth
|
Minardi-Cosworth | Test Driver | |
References[]
- ↑ "Racing driver escapes bomb blast". RT World News. 24 September 2007. https://www.rt.com/news/racing-driver-escapes-bomb-blast/. Retrieved 14 October 2023.