Less than 24 hours after the Winter Olympic flame was extinguished in Sochi, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is already looking at one of the highest profile uses of the Olympic Park in the Black Sea resort, the venue for the Russian Grand Prix.
With the first race scheduled for October many F1 fans are looking forward to the inaugural trip to Sochi to watch cars dash between the modern arenas that became the focal point of the 2014 Winter Games.
While this year’s race will be a standard day race however, Ecclestone is now considering the option of proposing a night race at the Olympic Park to take advantage of the amazing external LED lights on the roofs on the venues.
“The idea is a clever one,” said correspondent Kevin Eason, “given that the Olympic Park looks more like a vast car park than a picturesque sports arena in daylight.”
Ecclestone confirmed: “I think they would go for the idea.
“At night the stadiums are very colourful with lots of lights and the backdrop to a race would be fantastic.
“It (the surrounding area) was a bit of dump, quite honestly,” he admitted. “But they have spent a lot of money and there is a lot going on and the place is changing all the time.”
A move to a night race would certainly would add some glitz to what is already expected to be one of the most high profile races in years.
Taking F1 to Russia has always been one of Ecclestone’s key aims and to have a venue that now has the profile of Sochi is only positive for the sport.
However another floodlit race would likely take some of the glitz away from the other races in Singapore and particularly Abu Dhabi.
Bahrain will also become a day-night race this year to celebrate it’s tenth anniversary though whether it will be a full-time move to an evening slot is yet to be known, but another race that would likely follow the exact same theme as the LED haven that is Yas Marina may not be quite such a good idea.
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