Yesterday the FBI arrested FIFA senior officials and the Swiss authorities launched an investigation into corruption allegations surrounding the procurement of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Today, the Russian PR machine moves into action.
Sochi race promoter, Sergei Worobiew believes the 2015 Russian GP will be another success. “The numbers are very good and we are confident that we will be sold out.”
However, advance ticket sales are down this year for the October event, but each new F1 venue sees incremental interest during their inaugural race weekend.
Sochi has a seating capacity, including the Paddock Club, of 55,000 and Warobiew reveals, “We will keep the same number of seats. Only when the demand should rise in the medium term, we will consider an increase”.
The Russian GP will cost whoever is writing the cheque for 2015, double the amount of roubles originally envisaged when the contract was signed. The Russian currency has collapsed to below half its original value since punitive international sanctions have been enforced against the Putin regime.
The International community was horrified by Russia’s annexing of Crimea, a territory belonging to another sovereign power. This kind of ‘invasion’ and annexation of territories has been absent amongst the global community for almost the entire period since WWII.
Russian citizens are paying the price, with supermarket shelves empty and their international travel ambitions checked to a certain degree.
The only tickets available for the 2014 Russian GP were for the entire weekend. This year there are 2 day tickets available and tickets for just the pit lane walk on Thursday too.
Sochi of course won the prestigious 2014 Race Promoter’s Trophy for the best track in Formula One. This announcement was made by FOM at the annual FIA Gala ceremony which took place in Qatar.
The experience for the fans was apparently not quite so salubrious, many reporting accommodation that was sparse in comfort and restaurants with just basic ingredients and long waits to be fed.
The Sochi race promoter is hardly putting his neck on the block claiming there will be a full house for the return of Formula One.
21st century Russia is not immune from tactics of enticement and conscription. So by hook or by crook – the grandstands in Sochi will be full.
“The International community was horrified by Russia’s annexing of Crimea, a territory belonging to another sovereign power. This kind of ‘invasion’ and annexation of territories has been absent amongst the global community for almost the entire period since WWII.”
That fact is still just so totally fucking mental… They just did it, and that’s that. It’s almost LOL-worthy.
#OverTheRussianGP
#JeSuisFortis
#FuckPutin
@WTF
Time for some balance ……….. 🙂
http://tinyurl.com/prqzpne Americans learning practical geography.
http://tinyurl.com/lb3jlo5 Aw heck it was just bombing practice.
No political statement was made or should be implied from the above. Blame it on the Canadians. 😉 SouthPark neocons unite!
Good reply… Point taken.
I am aware of the info in your links,, but I appreciate the reminder and the balancing of my comment nonetheless.
It doesn’t change my incredulity in my original post, but point taken.
For me it also won the most boring grand prix in the last 50 years. They can come collect the trophy at my house.
“Sochi of course won the prestigious 2014 Race Promoter’s Trophy for the best track in Formula One. This announcement was made by FOM at the annual FIA Gala ceremony which took place in Qatar.”
Count the wrongs.
My thought was, “oh, the irony”.
verstappen – Brilliant comment!
“Sochi race promoter, Sergei Worobiew believes the 2015 Russian GP will be another success.”
Didn’t the promoter file for bankruptcy the week after the Sochi GP in 2014?
I also recall that once in, the army was stationed outside the Sochi circuit and no one was allowed out.
So what exactly do they mean by “success”?
There was no evidence of anyone being shot trying to escape (leave early).
Maybe none that we know of. Has anyone checked the Black Sea for floating bits after the GP?
The Sochi GP was always a total sell out.
Oh, that’s not what you meant… 😉
“By hook or by crook”
It’s a safe bet that it will be by the latter.
Ahh the ol’ Race Promoter’s Trophy, I believe previously awarded to other amazing circuits such as Korea, Abu Dhabi and Singapore.
Just more of the same pointless FIA nonsense.
FOM…
We knew what he/she meant… one of the list of corrupt sporting bodies/organisation starting with F… doesn’t matter which you pick really, its all the same sh^t.
“It’s all the same sh*t”
Very fair point, my pedantry ran away with me 😉
Sorry yes, FOM. I’ve been ranting so much about the FIA lately that my fingers just went to those keys.
Sorry to bring up political talk here but why in the name that’s holy is there still an F1 race held there? No food on the shelves yet a fortune for a sporting event. MrE should take a long hard look in a mirror and wonder. We have seen dubious characters in F1 for years,even the good dentist of hrt fame has nothing on the management of this sport.
Something is smelling bad in dodge but I for one don’t know how to solve it. Sorry guys but at this rate our sport is going to implode through no direction,lack of morals,constant rule changes and just some very very dubious business decisions
“No food on shelves” is a bit of exaggeration. Perhaps this happened the week when the ruble exchange rate was sharply devalued, sending consumers to scoop up all the supplies at the old, cheaper prices. Today Russians buy domestic or South American fruits, instead of European produce, and domestic salmon instead of Norwegian, as they complain how difficult it is to live now without authentic Parmesan cheese but life goes on (seriously, I read an interview with a Russian restaurant chief, and he said that Parmesan is the only European import he will truly miss).
Wasn’t there a piece about “F1 learning from FIFA” somewhere recently? Anyone spotted resonances over the last couple of days? The deep and profoundly corrupted relationship between sporting bodies, governments (of all complexions) and Big Capital will be fundamentally unaffected by a bit of turmoil on the surface – Business As Usual will soon be re-established. If there was any real concern about corruption in football or F1 – at least at an international level – both sports could be forced by commercial sanction to restructure in no time at all. But the minor necessity of having to sacrifice a few people whose snouts are seen to be too conspicuously in the trough is “small potatoes”.
When I think about Bernie or SBlatter I’m always reminded of the Hyman Roth figure in The Godfather (2).
“Hyman Roth always makes money for his partners…”
“No food on the shelves”? You people need to fact check rather than jump on the “let’s make fun of Russia bandwagon”. I’ve lived in Russia for 15yrs: the shelves are very much full (with great produce) and the restaurants are fantastic. Having lived in both the US and England, you guys really have no reason to make fun of Russia! :)))))))
I won’t bother commenting on the “the international community hasn’t seen a war of this kind since ww2” crap – someone already clarified that above (thanks!).
The shelves are not quite as full anymore and much of the stuff on display is too expensive to the average Russian.