Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Sunday drove a Formula 1 racing car for several hours on a special track at a speed of 240 km per hour in Russia's northeast region of St. Petersburg, showing again his tough image.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Sunday drove a Formula 1 racing car for several hours on a special track at a speed of 240 km per hour in Russia's northeast region of St. Petersburg, showing again his tough image.

State television showed the premier putting on a helmet with Russia's national emblem of the double-headed-eagle and the words Russia, wearing a Formula 1 outfit and getting into a yellow Renault's cockpit.

According to the local media reports, the premier had driven racing car for several hours. Trackside experts said Putin reached a speed of 240 km an hour.

"For a first time, it was good," Putin said unusually in English to a senior Renault mechanic, television showed.

Prior to his drive, the premier received detailed instructions on how to drive the racing car.

Local media reported that the yellow color of the racing car was reminiscent of the Lada Kalina sport car that Putin had used to drive along the Chita-Khabarovsk Highway in the Russian Far East earlier this year.

Three racing cars, two for the Formula's youth completion races and one for the Formula 1 Grand Prix, were put on show in St. Petersburg on Nov. 6 and 7. As part of the presentation of the racing cars, Putin drove one of the three.

In October, Putin attended a ceremony of signing an agreement with Formula 1 in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi, entitling Russia to host a Grand Prix in the country between 2014 and 2020.