Russian GP not yet officially cancelled: 'But very unlikely'

Last weekend it came out that the Grand Prix of Russia will not take place under the current circumstances. The circumstances have everything to do with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. F1 journalist Joe Saward says the situation surrounding the Russian GP is difficult.

GP Russia actually not canceled

Formula One moved quickly to take action. On Thursday, Ukraine was invaded by Vladimir Putin and on Friday the FIA came out with an official statement. In this statement it was made clear that it was impossible to hold the Russian GP under the current conditions. According to Saward, the FIA's wording shows that the situation is difficult. On his own blog the Brit writes: "F1 is not saying it's cancelled. Legally speaking, this is not a cancellation. It keeps the question open and at the same time they make the point that everyone involved does not want the race to go ahead."

"These things are never easy," Saward continued. "After all, contracts exist and perhaps the contract in question says nothing about the specific situation in which one country is attacking another." Saward wants to emphasise that as things stand there will be no Russian GP this year, but that could possibly change if the situation changes quickly. After all, the Russian event will not be held until September. Even then the question always remains whether the F1 organisation still wants to join forces with the Russians. The fact remains that the promoter of the F1 event and the Russian F1 fans are not directly to blame for Putin's aggressive invasion.

'Small chance of Russian GP in coming years'

Saward concludes his post, "It seems far-fetched to suggest that a situation is going to arise that will allow the race to be held in 2022 anyway (and even for years after that), but there needs to be a settlement." This last sentence of his argument does not seem to be to the liking of the Russian sponsor of the Grand Prix, according to Saward's latest tweet. Indeed, that sponsor has cancelled its membership on Saward's newsletter.

The Russian GP promoter cancelled his JSBM subscription (perhaps he disagreed when I said we probably won't have another Russian GP for a generation). That was before I had a chance to inform him that his monthly payment had failed...

— Joe Saward (@joesaward) February 28, 2022