Ecclestone visits Russian track
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| Bernie Ecclestone with Russian officials |
R-SPORT noted Ecclestone said that Sochi's experience with F1 "was a model for other Olympic hosts." Ecclestone said that Brazil, which will host the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, would be "ashamed" to see Russia's F1 progress. Ecclestone: "In most countries people just build things without knowing what they're going to turn it into afterwards." R-SPORT
02/04/13 Russia President Vladimir Putin told F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone that the country "is ready to host the Formula One Grand Prix in Sochi after it holds the Winter Olympic Games in the southern Black Sea city" in '14, according to the AFP. Putin "has already agreed with Ecclestone" to hold F1 races at a circuit being built around the Sochi Olympic Park. It will be "the first time Russia will have hosted such an event." Putin said, "I am happy to say that our project is developing. I think that as we planned we can hold our first races in October 2014." The Kremlin quoted Ecclestone saying he was "very impressed" by the work undertaken so far. AFP
02/04/13 Some photos from today's visit to Sochi by Bernie Ecclestone.
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02/04/13 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone on Monday was on the spot at Sochi, the scene of next year's inaugural Russian grand prix.
There had been some doubt about whether the resort city would host its first ever formula one race on schedule, following reports construction had stopped.
"It's a fantastic track," Ecclestone, F1's chief executive, was quoted on Monday by the local R-Sport news agency.
"I was here before the building work started on the track and I was already impressed then," he added. "Now I'm super-impressed with what's going on here."
Ecclestone, 82, met on Monday with Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak.
Kozak acknowledged that Sochi's concurrent preparations for the 2014 winter Olympics had presented challenges to the scheduling of the grand prix.
"But we've solved all those problems and entered, in my view, the final straight," he said.
02/04/13 Today Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone and Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Kozak visited the Formula 1 circuit construction site in the Olympic Park.
Officials together with Administration of the Krasnodar Region and "Formula Sochi" team evaluated the progress of the construction works of the circuit.
Dmitriy Kozak was satisfied with the construction progress of the Sochi Circuit for the first Russian Grand Prix. He pointed out that all works are going according to schedule.
Bernie Ecclestone, who was invited by the Russian Government, commented on considerable success of the Russian team while preparing the circuit and its facilities and said he was there before the construction process started and was very impressed.
The distinguished guests drove through the basic layer of asphalt, and then inspected Circuit facilities.