DANIELLA MATAR
Associated Press
MONZA, Italy (AP) — Formula One teams say they are not concerned about next month’s race in Sochi, despite the Russian resort being close to the conflict area in Ukraine.
A cease-fire took hold Friday night in eastern Ukraine after a deal was signed with Russian-backed separatists in an effort to bring an end to nearly five months of fighting.
“We are a sports team and we are sportsmen and I think that sport should unite,” Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff said. “We must rely on the governing body and the promoter to give us guidance and to give us information.
“It is always dangerous to read the news and build an opinion, because that opinion could be very wrong of what is really going on. And I think this is what we are going to do, rely on the opinion of the FIA and decide or then go forward, with their guidance.”
The inaugural Russian GP is scheduled for Oct. 12, in Sochi, the Black Sea resort which hosted this year’s Winter Olympics.
“We’re part of the event so we have to be there,” Lotus deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi said. “Politics or not politics, we don’t control that.”
Other team bosses were equally unfazed, with Red Bull’s Christian Horner saying “if there’s a race, we’ll be there.”
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