History Shows Ecclestone and F1 Will Do Everything to Avoid Canceling Russian GP

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 31, 2014

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Should sport and politics ever mix?

It's a question that is asked perhaps too often—and its answer largely depends on the sport in question.

For Formula One, a sport that sees many of its bureaucrats gain more recognition than some of its participants, a blend of the two worlds—so different yet so eerily alike—is inevitable.

F1's great political debate of 2014 surrounds the Russian Grand Prix, scheduled for October 12, with pressure building on Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's evergreen ringmaster, to drop the Sochi event from the 19-race calendar.

The Crimean crisis and the recent MH17 disaster are at the root of the widespread calls for the FIA and F1 to follow the lead of the FIM, which canceled the Russian round of the World Superbike Championship in April due to political concerns.

The FIA team principals' press conference ahead of last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix was littered with questions over the viability of the Russian race as well as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which is set to join the schedule in 2016. Christian Horner, the boss of four-time world champions Red Bull Racing, invited those present to point their dictaphones toward the mouths of Ecclestone and Jean Todt, the president of the FIA.



The chances of Ecclestone even hinting at wiping the Sochi Grand Prix off the calendar, however, are remote to say the least.

Only last week, the 83-year-old reiterated his support for the event, with the Daily Mail's Jonathan McEvoy quoting Ecclestone as stating: "I don’t see any problem with going. We are not involved in politics. We have a contract with them. We’ll respect it 100 per cent."

Ecclestone's unflinching stance on the Russian Grand Prix is hardly surprising, with the race arguably as important, if not more so, to F1 than the last new addition to the calendar, the return of the United States Grand Prix in 2012.&nbs...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Formula 1

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