Krasnodar, 4 October – Yug Times. About 150,000 visitors came to Sochi last weekend to watch the Formula One Russian Grand Prix. As usual, the city and the regional authorities tried to do their utmost to welcome the fans.
“The Formula One has always been a bright and hoped-for event for the residents and guests of the Krasnodar region,” Governor Veniamin Kondratiev said. “Now Sochi can rightfully be called a national centre of event tourism, and it’s no doubt that the ‘Royal race’ occupies a very special place in this calendar of events.”
Bernie Ecclestone, the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, was quoted as saying that the organisational level of the event in Sochi becomes better every year.
“Obviously, from when we started five years ago there have been a lot of changes made - all good changes,” he noted. Last weekend, Sochi was hosting twenty best racers from ten teams. Russia was represented by Sergei Sirotkin, a Williams pilot, and Artem Markelov, a Renault test-pilot.
Alas, neither of them achieved much in the contest. The Grand Prix was won by Lewis Hamilton, a British racing driver from Mercedes AMG Petronas. Traditionally, he received the trophy from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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