SO LONG SOCHI AS ST PETE’S SWEEPS IN
The Russian Grand Prix will visit Sochi for the last time in 2022 as the event moves to the recently completed Igora Drive facility near St Petersburg the following year. The Black Sea resort, where Vladimir Putin maintains a summer palace, has hosted the race since its inception in 2014, when it also hosted the Winter Olympics.
Designed by Hermann Tilke, Igora Drive was completed in 2019 and was due to host a round of the DTM and W Series last year before the pandemic forced them to cancel. The facility offers a number of different tracks including an oval, while the main circuit carries FIA Grade 1 status, is 2.54 miles long and features 15 corners on an anticlockwise layout.
“I am impressed with St Petersburg and I am confident that the Russian Grand Prix at Igora Drive will be an amazing event,” said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
Aside from its history of producing uneventful grands prix, Sochi has also drawn criticism for being an unwelcoming locale which is singularly difficult to reach from outside Russia. Igora Drive’s relative proximity to one of the country’s major cities – St Petersburg is 54km away – makes it more reachable.
Closer to the present, the current calendar continues to undergo adjustment as F1 reacts to the changing circumstances of the pandemic. The Turkish GP is set to return later this season in the 3 October slot vacated by the Singapore GP, which was officially cancelled at the beginning of June.
Istanbul Park was due to replace the cancelled Canadian GP in June, only for that to fall through because of travel restrictions. Turkey’s presence on the UK government’s ‘red list’, which requires returning travellers to observe a 10-day quarantine in an approved hotel, was a deal-breaker given the majority of F1 teams are Uk-based.
The race’s new slot, in the middle of a triple-header between the Russian and Japanese GPS, means this is less likely to be an issue. But doubts remain over other events. Travel into Japan remains problematic even though the Tokyo Olympics are going ahead. Brazil and Australia are also in doubt.
Although GP Racing understands F1 is considering the possibility of hosting two races in the USA, talks are still at an early stage about hosting a second race at the Circuit of The Americas. Paddock gossip has even suggested a return to Indianapolis may be on the cards…
“I AM IMPRESSED WITH ST PETERSBURG AND I AM CONFIDENT THAT THE RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX AT IGORA DRIVE WILL BE AN AMAZING EVENT.”
STEFANO DOMENICALI