“There’s Nothing to Talk”: F1 Journalist Makes Worrying Russian GP Claim Amidst Ever-Bleak Chances of Return

Ahead of the 2022 season, Formula 1 announced that the Russian GP will not take place as planned amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. While the venue’s future is questioned, Russian F1 journalist Alexey Popov believes the future certainly looks bleak for the Russian GP.

F1 re-introduced the Grand Prix in the country to the Formula 1 calendar in 2014. The return of Russian GP took place at the Sochi Autodrom and subsequently it continued until last year. However, F1 canceled the 2022 race scheduled in Sochi in September. As a result, there are only 22 races this time around.

F1 journalist believes Russian GP will not return

Soon after its cancellation, F1 ended the Russian GP contract as they released a statement. “Formula 1 can confirm it has terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix promoter meaning Russia will not have a race in the future,” it read. Meaning, unless F1 comes up with new contractual deal, Sochi, and most probably, St. Petersburg will remain away from the race calendar.

Alexey Popov doubts the return of F1 to Russia because he believes the relationship between the two parties involved is broken. So, it might be the end of the road for the Russian GP, according to him.

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He said, “I don’t think the relationship with Formula 1 will change anytime soon. It doesn’t depend on the information behind the scenes, I just don’t see how we can re-sign an agreement. We have already seen the reaction of Formula 1 on the rest of the issues.” (Translated using Google)

Alexey Popov reflects on F1 content ban in Russia

The Russian GP is one of the most popular events in the Russian sport. However, the fans in the country cannot watch the races as F1 has blocked all the content, including its official website and YouTube in the country.

Speaking on the situation, Popov said, “It is one thing to break the contract, but it is another thing for Russian citizens not to be able to access the official website or watch the videos on the YouTube channel. I don’t know what we’re talking about, I think there’s nothing to talk to them about at all,”

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Earlier, Haas also terminated Russian driver Nikita Mazepin’s contract. Furthermore, they ended their partnership with Uralkali amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

From 2023, F1 also planned to move the Russian GP from Sochi to St. Petersburg. However, now the race seems very unlikely.