The Russian Grand Prix is one of the newer events of the Formula 1 World Championship calendar: to date there have been 7 races, all of them at the Sochi circuit. F1 in Russia has only been in existence since 2014, although there was a Russian Grand Prix held in 1913 and 1914 in St. Petersburg, but there was no F1 back in those days, so it’s not really relevant.

Russian GP and the Olympics

Formerly known as the Sochi Olympic Park Circuit, it now goes by the name of Sochi Autodrom. As it name suggest, it runs through the Olympic Park, on roads constructed for the 2014 Winter Games – albeit always with the intention of being converted for F1 once the Olympic flame was extinguished.

The Hermann Tilke-designed track is one of the longest in F1 and is the fulfillment of a long-standing desire to take the sport to Russia that stretches back well into the Soviet era, thus turning the dream of having Formula 1 in Russia into reality.

This year, the Sochi Grand Prix takes place in Autumn, so it’s unlikely that visitors will be swimming in the Black Sea, on whose shores the city is set. Nevertheless, the mountain scenery and warm sunshine still makes this an attractive holiday destination.

All seven past editions have ended in victory for the Silver Arrows: four times with Lewis Hamilton, two for Valtteri Bottas and one for Nico Rosberg. The 2020 Russian Grand Prix was won by the aforementioned Bottas, who started from third on the grid.