“We will no longer negotiate for the Russian GP”- F1 boss Stefano Domenicali confirms $50 million a year circuit will never return

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali revealed that they won’t be negotiating with the organizers of the Russian GP for hosting future races. 

Earlier this year, Russia shocked the entire world when its army invaded Ukraine. This was followed by several sanctions on the nation that also found its way into Formula 1.

Haas F1 team had Uralkali (a Russian company) as their main sponsor. The American outfit did not waste time in removing all Uralkali branding, and also axed their Moscow-born driver Nikita Mazepin along with it. On top of that, they removed the Russian GP from the 2022 calendar.

Soon, F1 stated that their contract with the race organizers in Russia had been terminated altogether. This came after a lot of external as well as internal pressure, with several drivers insisting they won’t travel to the country even if the sport does.

In a recent interview, Domenicali revealed that there is no scope for the Russian GP to return to the calendar. In fact, they aren’t even considering negotiating with them.

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Domenicali promises that there won’t be Russian GP in F1

F1 is growing rapidly as a sport. It was already popular, but the interest has grown even more over the last few years. Netflix’s superhit docu-series Drive to Survive played a huge role in helping the sport grow more popular in places where it wasn’t in the past.

One such market is the US, which is set to host three Grand Prixs in 2023. The Russian GP paid F1 $50 million a year since 2014 to stay on the calendar. It’s a lot of money, but after considering all external factors, Domenicali insists that there’s no chance of returning to Russia.

“I’ve always believed that you should never say never,” he said to Sport Bild. But in this case, I can promise for sure – we will no longer negotiate with them. There will be no more racing in Russia.”

There are plenty of new and returning tracks that fans may witness in the sport in the coming few years. 2023 will see the Shanghai International Circuit return to the schedule. On top of that, Las Vegas and a new track in Qatar will make it’s debut. There are also rumors of Kyalami is South Africa making a long awaited return.

Also read: “A lot of this are just about money today”- Lando Norris laments removal of $22 million a year circuit from F1 calendar