Formula 1 is hitting hard as Russia steps up its attacks in Ukraine.
Liberty Media, promoter and shareholder of the World Championship, has decided to unilaterally terminate the contract with the organizer of the Russian Grand Prix.
The decision is motivated by the events in Ukraine and the Russian invasion for a week.
The race had been contested on the street circuit of Sochi since 2014, and was to be held at the end of September.
From the start of the conflict and following the positions taken by several drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, the race was quickly canceled.
The Grand Prix should have moved, from 2023, to the Igora Drive track built in 2019, and located about thirty kilometers from Saint Petersburg.
With this choice to break the contract, Formula 1 confirms in its press release "that Russia will not organize any more races in the future".
A firm decision as the World Championship begins on March 20 in Bahrain.
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During the week, a meeting was held at the headquarters of the FIA (the International Federation), in Paris, to discuss the fate of Russian and Belarusian drivers in the various championships it organizes.
The only Russian driver entered in Formula 1, Nikita Mazepin (Haas), was authorized to race under a neutral banner.
However, following a unique initiative led by the British automobile federation, the driver of the American Haas team will not be able to take part in the British Grand Prix on July 3.