F1: Russian GP boss expecting night race

The promoter of the Russian Grand Prix believes the event will become a night race at some stage before 2020.

The track, which winds its way through the Olympic park used for the 2014 winter games, held its third race this month and has a deal through 2020. Russian GP chief executive Sergey Vorobyev says the venue isn't yet ready to become a night race because the finance hasn't been confirmed, but he believes it is a case of when, not if.

"I'm sure before 2020, it will happen," he said. "We are waiting for final confirmation from the government because it's obviously a necessary capital investment as well as additional operating costs. The operating cost is down to us. We have to sell enough tickets to cover those costs no matter if it's a night race or a day race. At this moment, we're not fully ready to cover a night race operating cost. There is a need to do some capital investment so we shall see. The decision has been made without specific dates but I'm sure it will come."

However, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone was less certain about the event becoming a night race because of the expense required.

"It's not cheap to put in," he said. "When it was built, that was the time to lay all the cables and all they would have had to do was put the light bulbs in but that didn't happen. Nobody had thought about [a night race] when this was all built."

Originally on Autosport.com