Petrov ready to fill Kubica's shoes at Renault

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) The circumstances could have been better, but Russian Vitaly Petrov left little doubt Sunday he is ready to be top driver at Renault.

Petrov beat the likes of Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber and Jenson Button to finish a surprise third at Formula One's season-opening Australian Grand Prix, putting aside his error-strewn debut season last year and asserting himself as the man to step in for injured teammate Robert Kubica.

Kubica was badly injured while competing in the Ronde di Andora rally on Feb. 6. He collided with a roadside barrier, which penetrated the body of the car, almost severing his right hand and fracturing his right arm and leg.

Nick Heidfeld, a former teammate at BMW, was appointed on Feb. 16 to replace Kubica indefinitely. It is likely the Pole will miss the entire season, though that has not been confirmed.

When asked if he was now confident of filling Renault's No. 1 driver spot, Petrov's answer was short and to the point.

"I don't think I have to answer anything. I think you can see it."

Petrov, 26, made his F1 debut last season and soon developed a reputation for making careless mistakes. However he improved throughout the season and made headlines in the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi when he kept Alonso behind him throughout the race, quashing the Ferrari driver's title ambitions.

Petrov led home the Spaniard again on Sunday. Even though Alonso closed inside two seconds in the final laps he was never in a genuine position to challenge the Russian, who hung on for his first ever podium finish.

"I was almost touching Mark Webber in front and was pushing as hard as I can," Petrov said. "Then when he pitted, I just tried to push the maximum of what I have from thee tires, and then also tried to pull away from Fernando."

But he said he never felt threatened by Alonso.

"It was just the last lap maybe, and he was still quite far away from me," Petrov said. "And then he still he needed some time to attack, but my tires were still quite good so I could still pull away in the last corner."

Kubica outqualified Petrov at every race last season and posted a better finish in every race he completed. Those statistics showed why Renault - while celebrating Petrov's podium - would be left wondering if second or perhaps even first was attainable if the Pole had been in the car on Sunday.

It's certainly not a question Petrov will dwell on.

"In qualifying it's difficult to fight with these guys," he said, referring to the Red Bull and McLaren drivers. "But I always believe, because in a race anything can happen, like it happened today."

Petrov's career trajectory was unusual by modern standards. coming into motor racing only in his late teens rather than having the extensive childhood karting experience now common for most drivers.

He mixed Russian competition with an underwhelming open-wheeler career in Europe then Asia, but was vaulted into Formula One on the basis of raw talent and with an eye to attracting the untapped Russian sponsorship market.

Late last year he extended his contract with Renault until the end of the 2012 season.

"I'm very proud I'm in this team and on the podium now," Petrov said.