Todt: No reason to cancel Russian F1 GP

Socchi F1 circuit animated picture

The FIA does not intend to cancel the inaugural Russian grand prix, according to the governing body's president Jean Todt.

Amid the Crimean crisis, the threat of war with Ukraine and escalating sanctions against Russia, it is feared formula one will not be able to race for the first time in Sochi later this year.

Indeed, the German touring car series DTM is currently re-thinking its Moscow round, and the superbike federation FIM has already cancelled a race.

But for the moment, F1 teams are simply relying on their government's travel advice when it comes to making plans for Russia.

"I think unless the British government advise otherwise and then from that obviously the FIA and FOM, then we are obliged to go, we are contracted to go," said John Booth, boss of the UK-based team Force India.

Any official cancelling of the Russian grand prix would have to be done formally by the FIA, and Todt insists that at the moment the race is on.

"At the moment there is no change to the calendar. Russia is on," the Frenchman told reporters.

"I am comfortable with what the FIM has done, but at the moment we don't have any reason to reconsider any race we have on the calendar," Todt added.

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