Ticket sales launched for 2018 FIA Formula One Grand Prix in Sochi; Price starting from $70

Ticket sales for the 2018 FIA Formula One Grand Prix in the Russian resort city of Sochi, scheduled for September 28-30, were launched on Thursday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said.

The 2018 FIA Formula One Championship includes 21 races and began with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 23-25. The final Grand Prix of this season will be held in Abu Dhabi on November 23-25.

"We are announcing today the start of ticket sales for the (Formula One) Russian Grand Prix," Kozak said addressing a news conference in Moscow on Thursday. "There will be no vacant seats left. This will be the fifth Grand Prix in the Russian history."

Alexey Titov, the CEO of the Rosgonki company in charge of organizing the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, said that "Ticket prices begin at 3,990 rubles ($70), but the discount of 20 or 39% is available for tickets’ purchase before June 5 depending on the selection of the grandstand."

The inaugural Formula One race in Sochi in 2014 and the next in 2015 were held in October, but the following two Grand Prix races (in 2016 and 2017) were moved to late April and early May timeframe.

Sochi Autodrom track is the only racing circuit in Russia hosting a FIA Formula One Grand Prix. Located in the Olympic Park, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, the 5,848-meter long racing circuit in the Black Sea coastal area hosted successfully hosted four F1 Grand Prix races and is preparing for another race this September.

The contract to include Russia in the calendar of F1 racing for the 2014-2020 period was signed in 2010 in Sochi by then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and former Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone. Early last year, the contract to hold F1 racing in Russia’s Sochi was extended until 2025.

In late 2014, the Sochi Autodrom was awarded the trophy of Formula One’s best racing track of the year. The Race Promoters' Trophy is a rotating award, engraved with the names of other top F1 tracks dating from 1975.

Source: Tass