Petrov eager to maintain Turkey form

The Russian put in the best performance of his rookie campaign at Istanbul a fortnight ago - qualifying in the top ten for the first time and fighting hard for the points until a late-race collision with Fernando Alonso damaged his car.

With his Renault team delighted at the step forward Petrov made, the man himself thinks he has now laid down a performance benchmark.

"For the Turkey weekend, we can say it was almost the best in terms of what we did," said Petrov. "On my side it was the best that I can expect and this is what I want each weekend to continue like until the end of the year."

Petrov believes that his improved form has been helped by Renault delivering him a car that he feels comfortable and confident in.

"Now I have started to understand what kind of car I like to drive. In Turkey I said thank you to my engineers because they did a fantastic job, and they changed a lot."

But despite his growing confidence, Petrov believes that Canada will be a big test for him - because he has never driven it before.

"Turkey I knew quite well because I was there in GP2 and I won. I knew each corner very well, and where I could improve. When you know the track it is more positive, but here will be quite difficult."