Ecclestone ’super impressed’ on Sochi visit

Bernie Ecclestone on Monday was on the spot at Sochi, the scene of next year’s inaugural Russian grand prix.

There had been some doubt about whether the resort city would host its first ever formula one race on schedule, following reports construction had stopped.

"It’s a fantastic track," Ecclestone, F1’s chief executive, was quoted on Monday by the local R-Sport news agency.

"I was here before the building work started on the track and I was already impressed then," he added. "Now I’m super-impressed with what’s going on here."

Ecclestone, 82, met on Monday with Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak.

Kozak acknowledged that Sochi’s concurrent preparations for the 2014 winter olympics had presented challenges to the scheduling of the grand prix.

"But we’ve solved all those problems and entered, in my view, the final straight," he said.