Replacing Russian Grand Prix ‘no problem at all’, F1 confirm

The race is Sochi was scheduled to take place on 25 September

The head of Formula One is confident a replacement race will be found for the cancelled Russian Grand Prix.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has said it will be “no problem at all” to fill the gap left by the Sochi event and maintain the record-breaking 23-race schedule.

The Russian Grand Prix was cancelled following the country’s invasion of Ukraine with the race being “impossible to hold in the current circumstances”.

It leaves a gap in the schedule in between the Italian Grand Prix on 11 September and the Singapore Grand Prix on 2 October. The Russian Grand Prix was originally set to take place on 25 September.

F1 had to replace several races across the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Domenicali the sport would be prepared to stage another race elsewhere, even at short notice.

“Talking specifically about the situation this year, because of the Russian situation, I just can confirm to you that we have already proven in the last couple of years to be very flexible and not to have any problem in finding possible solutions to that,” Domenicali told reporters.

“So I can just confirm that could be an option for this year with no problem at all.”

Turkey has been suggested as a possible replacement for the Russian Grand Prix while Portugal and Imola also held rescheduled races at short notice last season.