Formula 1 will no longer race in Russia after it terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix race’s promoters.
Formula 1 has announced that its contract with the Russian Grand Prix has been terminated, indicating that the country will no longer host a grand prix.
This comes after last week when F1 announced that the Russian Grand Prix scheduled for September at the Sochi Autodrom will be canceled due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
F1 issued a statement on Thursday morning stating that this year’s Russian Grand Prix event in Sochi will not be held, more negotiations about the future of the Russian Grand Prix took place this week. The F1 management also added that it has “terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix promoter, implying that Russia will no longer host a race.”
Since 2014, the Russian Grand Prix has been hosted at the Sochi Autodrome, which is located near the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. Formula 1 confirmed last year that the Russian Grand Prix would move from Sochi to Igora Drive outside St Petersburg on a multi-year contract beginning in the 2023 season.
The contract termination is the latest in a string of sanctions in the aftermath of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine last week, which drew international condemnation. The United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have imposed severe sanctions on the Russian Federation, with various national governments prohibiting residents and firms in their nations from doing business with Russian-owned companies.
The FIA imposed limits on international motorsport events conducted in Russia earlier this week, stating that Russian racers would only be permitted to compete as neutrals. However, the British racing governing body, Motorsport UK, went a step further yesterday, forbidding Russian competition license holders from competing in races in the UK.
