Cregan urges swift call on Sochi F1 night race for 2016
Richard Cregan says a decision must be made quickly if the Russian Grand Prix is to run under lights in 2016, with only months to install the necessary infrastructure.
Richard Cregan, international advisor to the Russian Grand Prix, has called for a rapid decision on whether Sochi will host its 2016 Formula One race as a night event. The move would require a major installation of floodlighting technology in less than six months, following the event’s shift to a May date.
Talks over converting the Sochi race to a night format intensified after Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak and race organiser Sergei Vorobyov suggested the 2016 edition could run after dark. This would be a year earlier than previously indicated by officials, who had said 2017 was the earliest feasible date for a floodlit Russian Grand Prix.
Cregan confirmed to Russian news agency Tass that while a 2017 night race had been the initial plan, political discussions at the highest level, including between President Vladimir Putin and then F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, had opened the door for an accelerated timeline. "Theoretically it is possible to organise it by the next grand prix, but it needs a decision to be made soon," he said.
Time pressure for floodlight installation
Sochi’s move from an autumn to a spring slot for 2016 has left organisers with just over half a year to make any changes. Cregan estimates that a typical floodlight installation for a Formula One night race takes about 40 weeks, meaning the window is already tight. He suggested that with a prompt decision, the process could be accelerated, but warned that further delay would make a night race in 2016 unworkable.
The Sochi Autodrom already has the power infrastructure needed for a floodlighting system, according to Cregan, but the installation itself is a substantial project. Previous plans to make the Russian Grand Prix a night race had been postponed, with organisers opting for an early afternoon start in 2015. That year’s race began at 2pm local time, and no further progress was made on night race preparations.
Negotiations ongoing, no final decision yet
As of late April 2016, Sergey Vorobyov, the event promoter, continued to negotiate the possibility of a night race with Formula One Management. Cregan said the idea remained relevant, but that the focus for 2016 had been on running the event smoothly after the date change. With only six months between the last race and the next, organisers faced a compressed preparation schedule.
No final decision had been announced by the time of the 2016 Russian Grand Prix. The prospect of a night race remained under discussion, but the technical and logistical demands made a 2017 debut more likely if agreement could not be reached imminently.
For more on the challenges faced by new Formula One venues, seeFormula One Faces Uncertainty Ahead of Inaugural Russian Grand Prix
