Oops, they didn’t invite Vladimir!
F1 fan Putin left off the guestlist
VLADIMIR PutIn is due to be guest of honour at tomorrow’s Russian Grand Prix, despite Formula One’s new owners withdrawing several passes from race organisers . . . including one for the Russian President himself.
Sportsmail understands the accreditation problem has been smoothed over hurriedly, with Liberty Media belatedly granting every request made by the local authorities. A warm welcome now awaits Putin, a diplomatic incident just averted.
It is unclear why the passes were ever withheld. Whatever the reason, it is ironic seeing how Liberty, the American conglomerate who recently took over from Bernie Ecclestone, came in with a promise to throw open the paddock gates to greater numbers.
Just four races into their regime, Liberty seem to have modified their muchtrumpeted, if rash, policy.
the pass fiasco is even more ironic given that Putin, one of the world’s most powerful men, would hardly need a lanyard and plastic badge to walk into the Sochi Autodrom he built at an estimated cost of £150million.
He pays some £40m a year to stage the race in a deal struck with Ecclestone, a friend and associate of a decade or more.
Ecclestone and the race organisers both declined to make any comment about Putin’s accreditation, while a spokesman for Liberty said that ‘all passes requested by the authorities have been issued’.
Liberty Media’s Formula One chief executive Chase Carey, who declined the opportunity to clarify the situation, is happy to meet Putin at the track tomorrow despite the West’s sanctions against Russia.
It should be interesting given that Ecclestone, now F1’s chairman emeritus, is also in the Black Sea resort and has traditionally been pictured sitting next to the president as they watched the race from the stands. Will Carey or Ecclestone get top billing this year?
Heightened safety measures are in place after 16 people died in the St Petersburg metro bombing early this month. Expected alongside Putin is his chief sports adviser Vitaly Mutko, the minister sullied by his connection to the state-sponsored drugs abuse that led to the part-ban of Russian athletes from the Rio Olympics. He has since been promoted to deputy prime minister.
Here on the track built on the site of another Olympics, the 2014 Winter Games, the anticipated crowd of some 55,000 can expect success of a different red army — Ferrari — whose no 1 driver Sebastian Vettel was quickest during practice in yesterday’s sun.
to underline the Scuderia’s authority, Vettel’s team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was next quickest, with the two Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton each about seven-tenths back in third and fourth. Mercedes are struggling with their rear tyres and their 100 per cent success rate in Russia is under threat.
After his afternoon practice below the snow- capped mountains where Lizzy Yarnold won skeleton gold three years ago, Hamilton said: ‘Bit of a difficult day for us. We managed to complete everything that we needed to do on our runs, but in terms of the balance of the car, the Ferrari seemed very, very fast on the long runs.
‘the tyres feel very peaky, so it’s easy to drop out of the window of performance. But when they’re working they seem to be good.’
Hamilton struggled all day, more so than Bottas. But the British driver has insisted he does not want undue favours from his pit-wall boffins.
‘It definitely doesn’t feel good for the guy from behind who is helped by team orders,’ he said. ‘I know there are people in the paddock who probably don’t care if the car in front has to let them through. But for me it’s not a great feeling because you want to beat that guy on merit.’
Serious engine problems continue to plague poor McLaren. Stoffel Vandoorne required a new Honda power unit after the first session, which means the Belgian will get a 15-place grid penalty for the race.
Honda are ailing mightily, yet it remains one of the strangest suggestions heard that Mercedes might help the Japanese company fix their problems.
Why would Honda, with their proud traditions in racing on two and four wheels, lower themselves to solicit advice from a rival (other than for the obvious reason: they need help fast)? And why would Mercedes willingly tune up an adversary? It seems bonkers all round.