Formula 1 News: Axed Russian GP still seeking F1 fee refund (Update)

(GMM) The promoters of Formula 1’s axed Russian GP have launched legal action against the sport’s commercial rights holder in the UK High Court.

According to the state-owned Tass news agency, Rosgonki – the company that organized the Sochi race – is seeking repayment of its pre-paid 2022 fee, believed to be the equivalent of around 50 million British Pounds.

F1 axed the Vladimir Putin-backed event in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Tass reports that while Formula 1 acknowledges the debt, the funds remain frozen under international sanctions.

Rosgonki CEO Irina Aurenius confirmed that negotiations had failed. “Formula 1 is not taking any action to repay the debt in good faith, in connection with which it was decided to seek the return of funds through the judicial and legal system of Great Britain,” she told Tass.

“At this stage, we are not ready to comment on the details of the claim, including the amount.”

Rosgonki also accuses Formula 1 of politicizing the sport by canceling the race, which was set to move from Sochi to a new venue in St Petersburg from 2023.

(GMM) Promoters of the axed Russian GP are still asking Formula 1 to return the race fee for 2022.

The race at Sochi, and the remainder of the Russian GP contract, was terminated unilaterally by F1 at the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine.

“They owe us money,” promoter Alexey Titov told the Russian news agency Tass.

“We ask Formula 1 to return it. It was paid, but there was no race.

“They admit that there is a debt so in this sense there is no litigation, but they say that they are technically unable to return the money.

“We, as an organization, were once controlled by VTB Bank, which was a technical sponsor, so there are legal sanctions barriers for the return of funds,” Titov added.

“Is there any hope of getting the money back? Of course – this is the country’s money and I’m not afraid of saying it.”

China has not hosted a single grand prix since the outbreak of the covid pandemic, but FIA inspectors have now visited the Shanghai circuit to restore F1 approval – with a revival of the Chinese GP now expected for 2024.

As for Russia, however, Titov says the promoters are no longer interested in F1.

“I don’t miss Formula 1 a bit,” he said. “They left and we had the opportunity to establish our competitions, which we did.

“This was only a plus for everyone.”