A race in Moscow would benefit F1: Fisichella

Giancarlo Fisichella says,a Formula One race on the streets of Moscow would be excellent for the sport and its Russian fans.

Moscow : A Formula One race on the streets of Moscow would be excellent for the sport and its Russian fans, three-time race winner Giancarlo Fisichella said Wednesday.

Plans to host a Grand Prix in Moscow collapsed a decade ago following failure to agree a TV deal, but Russia is now scheduled to host its first race in the southern resort city of Sochi in 2014. "I think it would be great to make a street circuit for Formula One in Moscow," Fisichella said. "It would be very attractive for Formula One." The track could use some of the city streets near the Kremlin where Fisichella will drive a Ferrari in a demonstration next month, he added. Interest in Formula One has grown in Russia since Vitaly Petrov, now at Caterham, joined the sport in 2010, and this is one of the necessary ingredients for a new race in Moscow, Fisichella suggested. "You`ve got the interest in the races, and a driver," he said. The Sochi race is scheduled to start in the same year as the city hosts the Winter Olympics. Sochi is prioritising the Olympics, which may cause "serious delays" for the race, Igor Yermilin, an adviser to the Russian Automobile Federation,sources said. A contract signed in 2010 between F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and Russian company Omega agreed that the race would be staged for six years between 2014 and 2020. IANS