F1 raced in Sochi Autodrom for the Russian Grand Prix from 2014 to 2021 and was largely successful in the country. Although the track did not always provide spectacular racing, the 2021 race was a memorable one. However, even before F1 first took place in Sochi in 2014, we saw Russian President Vladimir Putin driving an F1 car.

In 2010, the Russian leader got an opportunity to take a Renault F1 car for a spin.

Putin was seen keenly paying attention to all the information that he got about the steering wheel. After his steering wheel lessons, he finally took the car out for a spin and looked comfortable in it. We have often seen him at the Russian GP. At times, he has even presented trophies to the drivers who finished podiums.

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The sport decided not to race in the country due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. While most people came out and spoke against the war, the Russian leader found one ally.

Ex-F1 boss extends support to Russian President Vladimir Putin

In his interview on Good Morning Britain, former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone extended his support to Putin. He mentioned that the Russian leader was a first-class person and he would take a bullet for him.

“I’d still take a bullet for him. I’d rather it didn’t hurt, but if it does, I’d still take a bullet because he’s a first-class person. What he’s doing (in Ukraine) is something that he believed was the right thing he was doing for Russia.

“I think if he’d thought about things, he would definitely have made a big enough effort to speak to Putin, who is a sensible person, and would have listened to him and could have probably done something about it,” said Ecclestone.

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