F1 in Russia as soon as possible!

According to the latest rumours, Bernie Ecclestone has issued a demand to the officials of the Formula One Australian Grand Prix to hold their race at night or be ready to lose the event after the contract expires in 2010.




The same source has Ecclestone interested in holding a race in Russia to replace the Australian GP. British newspaper the Daily Mirror has now claimed that Ecclestone will be travelling to St. Petersburg in the near future to discuss the possibility of replacing the Australian Grand Prix with a race in Russia from 2010 onwards.

The paper has claimed that Ecclestone will be meeting with St. Petersburgs’ governor, and possibly even the president Vladimir Putin, for talks about building a new circuit in the country.

“We would like to get it in the calendar as soon as we can”, Ecclestone said.
Completely new circuit to be called the Pulkovo Ring, which would be close to the airport.

Pulkovo is 10 miles south of St Petersburg and probably best known because of the Central Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which was established in 1839 and was a leading observatory for more than a century. It is also the home of the city's airport.



Construction plans for a racing circuit were approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin with a budget of $60m to build a track able to accomodate 150,000 spectators. The track itself would be 2.5 miles in length.



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