Formula 1 was the "pet project" of Russian President Vladimir Putin as he "brought one of the world’s richest sports to his home nation as a showcase for his favourite holiday resort and a display of Western glitz and glamour," according to Kevin Eason of the SUNDAY TIMES. But now F1 is "bracing itself for a storm of criticism as the row over the Salisbury poisonings threatens to overshadow Russia’s summer of sport." Liberty Media "could face embarrassment" when Putin attends the grand prix and sits in his personal box to watch the 10 teams -- seven from Britain -- racing. F1 has a six-month "buffer" until the grand prix on Sept. 30 and will "hope the furore has died down." U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also "made it clear that he does not want British fans to be penalised by sanctions against the World Cup," and the grand prix will "likely to fall into the same category." Human rights groups are "only too familiar with F1's cavalier attitude to dictatorships" and have criticized the sport's association with countries such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain and China. Teams are contracted to race wherever F1 decides or "face heavy fines or exclusion from the championship" (SUNDAY TIMES, 3/18).
