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Putin to visit 2014 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix in Sochi

Russian President will also hold talks with Bahrein's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who is to arrive in Sochi with a working visit on October 12, the Kremlin press service says

MOSCOW, October 10. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit on Sunday the 2014 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix in the resort Sochi, Kremlin said on Friday.

On Friday the Russia Grand Prix kicked off with Practices 1 and 2 followed by qualifications on Saturday. On Sunday the teams and drivers will be racing for the first time in Russian history at the brand new Sochi Autodrom.

Along with this, GP2 and GP3 series are also to be held there on October 10-12.

The Sochi Autodrom located in the Olympic Park is the only stationary track in town in the Formula 1 race calendar with world-class safety.

The Russian Grand Prix will be held at the racing track located near the Olympic Village in the coastal area of Sochi. The contract to include Russia in the calendar of F1 racing for the 2014-2020 period was signed in 2010 in Sochi by then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

Talks with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in Sochi

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who is to arrive in Russia's Sochi with a working visit on October 12, is expected to join the Russian president at the competition. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Kremlin press service said.

The leaders of the two countries “plan to focus on building up bilateral co-operation in trade, investment, energy, financial and humanitarian spheres.” They also expect to discuss topical issues on international agenda, primarily the current situation in the Middle East and North Africa, the Kremlin noted.

Putin and the Bahraini monarch “will discuss the situation in the Middle East, particularly actions staged against Islamic State militants, and will certainly raise trade and economic issues,” Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters on Thursday. He also did not rule out that the leaders would discuss energy carriers.