Todt hopes F1 returns to Russia

Former FIA president Jean Todt hopes Russia will return to the Formula 1 calendar.

When Haas sacked Nikita Mazepin and his Russian sponsor at the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis in 2022, F1 also unilaterally axed the heavily Vladimir Putin-supported Russian GP at Sochi.

At the time, moves were afoot to relocate the race from Sochi to a new circuit near St Petersburg.

Amid reports of negotiations for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, and signs that the FIA will soon drop restrictions for Russian drivers, Todt expressed hope for the future of the Russian GP.

"I hope that peace will prevail, and Formula 1 will of course return to Russia," the 79-year-old Frenchman told the Russian news agency Tass.

"Russia was an important race on the calendar," Todt added.

Sochi hosted the Russian GP between 2014 and 2021.