Pit Stop | Pit Stop: Sochi's chance to make a huge noise as it hosts Russia's F1 race
Time will tell whether the winter Olympics venue will live up to its promise as an equally good place to hold a Formula One event
Sochi during the Olympics was an odd place. The venues were good, the people charming and the Games were great, but my goodness, it seemed a scramble to be ready. Electricians on the promenade trying to get the new lights on, grass being sprayed green and unfinished houses on the perimeter of the Olympic Park wrapped up in canvases depicting completed dwellings.
On the trip from the hotel (equally a work in progress) to the broadcast centre, you passed around the edge of the Olympic Park. There were plenty of buildings to marvel at, including the imposing stadium and the Ice Dome.
But there was one that was a bit puzzling; half built grandstands seemingly too close together overlooking a narrow, unfinished strip. There were several days of trying to work out what odd winter sport this could house before the penny finally dropped - it was the start/finish straight of the new grand prix track.
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Then it also became clear why there were random kerbs sticking out in odd places outside the venues; it was part of the track. Standing in the winter sunshine around the buzz of the games, looking out to the Black Sea beyond, you started to see that this might well make a stunning venue for a Formula One race as well as an Olympic Games.
This weekend we get to see whether it is the spectacular spectacle Bernie Ecclestone and his Russian hosts envisaged. It certainly will be different, sweeping around venues that earlier this year were hosting ice skating, curling and ice hockey.
The moral aspect of hosting the race there has, as always with F1, been swept under the carpet. The sport does not feel it has the job of punishing Russia for its altercations with Ukraine, a situation that took hold during the Olympics in February.
