Russian Grand Prix

Coordinates: 43°24′16″N 39°57′16″E / 43.404421°N 39.954529°E / 43.404421; 39.954529

Russian Grand Prix

Sochi Autodrom (2014–present)
Race information
Number of times held	7
First held	1913
Most wins (drivers)	Lewis Hamilton (3)
Most wins (constructors)	Mercedes (7)
Circuit length	5.848 km (3.634 mi)
Race length	309.732 km (192.459 mi)
Laps	53
Last race (2018)
Pole position
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:31.387
Podium
1. L. Hamilton Mercedes 1:27:25.181 2. V. Bottas Mercedes +2.545 3. S. Vettel Ferrari +7.487
Fastest lap
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:35.861

The Russian Grand Prix (Russian: Гран-при России, translit. Gran-Pri Rossii) is an annual auto race held at Sochi Autodrom – a street circuit built around Olympic Park in Sochi, Russia, as part of the Formula One World Championship.

The race was first held briefly in the 1910s in Saint Petersburg of the Russian Empire. Plans were made to host a Formula One event in Moscow for the 1983 season as the Grand Prix of the Soviet Union, these plans fell through. In 2010, it was officially announced that the Russian city of Sochi, which was also preparing to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, would host a new event on the Formula One calendar, beginning in 2014 under a seven-year deal.

Pre-WWI history

The beginning of the 1913 race

Russian driver Georgy Suvorin crossing the finish line in 1913

The Russian Grand Prix was run twice, in 1913 and 1914 at a circuit in Saint Petersburg. The first race was won by Russian driver Georgy Suvorin,^[1] whilst German Willy Scholl won the 1914 event.^[1] The race was abandoned following the outbreak of the First World War and the Russian Civil War, and it was not resumed with the establishment of the Soviet Union.

Mural depicting a racing car at Tsar Nicholas II's car garages in Tsarskoye Selo (modern-day Pushkin)

Formula One

Plans for a Grand Prix in Russia emerged in the early 1980s, with a proposed circuit in Moscow to be run under the title of the "Grand Prix of the Soviet Union". The race was included on a provisional calendar for 1983, but bureaucratic barriers prevented the Grand Prix from being held, and the race was removed from all subsequent revisions of the calendar.^[2] Nevertheless, Bernie Ecclestone continued in his quest to organise a race behind the Iron Curtain, and Hungary became the first communist country to host a race instead, joining the calendar in 1986.

The starting grid at the 2014 Russian Grand Prix.

In 2001, Vladimir Putin, then serving as President of Russia, expressed personal support to the project of the "Pulkovskoe Ring" near the Pulkovo Airport,^[3][4] but the race never came to fruition. Another attempt was made in 2003, with the Moscow council approving a project to build a track in the Molzhaninovsky area in the Northern District of Moscow, to be known as Nagatino Island.^[5] The project was abandoned after a dispute over the commercial contract. In September 2008, it was revealed that work was to begin on a Formula One circuit to be located at the village of Fedyukovo, Volokolamsky District of the Moscow Province, approximately 77 kilometres (48 mi) away from Moscow. Known as the Moscow Raceway, the track was designed by Hermann Tilke to host both Formula One and Moto GP races.^[6][7] The plan to host a Grand Prix at the Moscow Raceway was never realised, but unlike the Pulkovskoe Ring and Nagatino Island projects, the circuit was completed, and in 2012, hosted rounds of the Formula Renault 3.5 and 2.0 Series^[8] – which became the first internationally accredited motorsport events to hold a round in Russia – as well as the FIA GT1 World Championship,^[9] and the Superbike World Championship.^[10]

President Putin congratulates Lewis Hamilton, the winner of 2014 Russian GP

Nico Rosberg at Russian GP 2014

Vitaly Petrov became Russia's first Formula One World Championship driver in 2010, when he joined Renault, adding further momentum to the project. Bernie Ecclestone expressed a desire to see Formula One travel to Russia at a circuit in or near Moscow or at the resort city of Sochi.^[11] After several decades of attempting to re-establish the race, the new Russian Grand Prix was officially announced on 14 October 2010 for a debut in 2014, running through 2020. The race is held in the resort city of Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, at the Sochi Autodrom – a 5.9 km street circuit which passes around the venues of Sochi's Olympic Park.^[12][13][14]

The inaugural event was held on 12 October 2014, and was won by British driver Lewis Hamilton, followed by German driver Nico Rosberg, both from the Mercedes-Benz team, and Valtteri Bottas, of Williams.^[15]

Winners

Multiple winners (drivers)

Drivers in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.

Number of wins	Driver	Years won
3	Lewis Hamilton	2014, 2015, 2018

Multiple winners (constructors)

Teams in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

Number of wins	Constructor	Years won
7	/ Benz/Mercedes	1913, 1914, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

By year

A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.

Year	Driver	Constructor	Location	Report
2018	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Sochi	Report
2017	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes		Report
2016	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes		Report
2015	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes		Report
2014	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes		Report
2013 – 1915	Not held
1914	Willy Scholl	Benz	Saint Petersburg	Report
1913	Georgy Suvorin	Benz		Report

Sponsors

• 2017–present: VTB Russian Grand Prix^[16]

References

• "Formula 1 Grand Prix blazes a trail around Sochi's Olympic Park"