APRIL 13, 2002

Russians in Italy

THE Imola paddock witnessed a delegation of nine representatives of the planned Grand Prix in Moscow. The deal between the Moscow City Government and the Formula One group has yet to be finalized although Bernie Ecclestone gave the impression on a recent visit to Russia that it would only be a matter of time before contracts were signed.

The Russians are keen to get a race and here has even been talk that it is they who are behind the Phoenix Finance Ltd. F1 effort. This does not seem to be very likely as the current mess over the entry would not be such a problem as they could simply invest the $48m necessary and start a completely new team next year. The need to have a team running this year is not huge.