SEPTEMBER 18, 2001

Bernie meets the Russians

Bernie Ecclestone was a man of many meetings at Monza but one which may be significant was with a number of Russians involved in the plans to hold a race in Moscow in 2003.

BERNIE ECCLESTONE was a man of many meetings at Monza but one which may be significant was with a number of Russians involved in the plans to hold a race in Moscow in 2003. Although there has been a big announcement in the city, there are still a lot of people in F1 who are sceptical about whether it will really happen. Ecclestone has made similar announcements about various other races in the past and they have come to nothing: notably South Africa, Indonesia and China.

For the moment everyone is saying what a good idea it is to go racing there. Perhaps it is but there are other voices in the paddock which suggest that the huge Asian countries and the Middle East are better long-term targets for F1, at least until the image of Russia improves a little more.