F1 could have ’Russian team’ soon - Aleshin

A "Russian team" could soon be on the Formula 1 grid.

That is the claim of Mikhail Aleshin, a 32-year-old Russian who is a senior driver for the SMP Racing program that brought Sergey Sirotkin into F1.

When asked if SMP’s next step could be a F1 team, Aleshin told Sportbox: "That is a question for our leadership.

"But in my opinion, we have already implemented the world endurance championship program in the most important LMP1 class, and this championship is not too different from Formula 1.

"The technologies are the same and the rules are even more open than in Formula 1. Yes, grands prix are grands prix, but the experience of SMP Racing is so great that we can do it," Aleshin added.