MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/. Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton said he intends to win Russia's first ever Grand Prix in Sochi starting on October 10.

"I’ve driven the track on the simulator and it looks great. Driving a new track is always a challenge for a driver. Taking the first race, you want to be the one that masters it the first time before anyone else because in 20 years time people will know that the Sochi circuit was mastered by this person," Hamilton told TASS before his arrival in Sochi.

"That's what my target is for this week," the British star added.

Hamilton, who claimed the lead of the Formula 1 world championship by dominating the Singapore Grand Prix, also said he was excited to visit Sochi, the venue of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The inaugural Russian Grand Prix will be held on October 10-12 at a racing track located near the Olympic Village in the coastal area of Sochi, Black Sea resort host of this year’s Olympic Winter Games. 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.