Bernie Ecclestone may find some spiritual empathy with the camouflage-green cottage that stands high in the hills overlooking Sochi and the city’s glittering new racetrack.
The somewhat austere dacha — or holiday home — belonged to Joseph Stalin and is a few minutes’ drive from the site of the Russian Grand Prix. Ecclestone approves of men who know their own mind: Hitler got things done, he once opined, and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is a nice guy.
Perhaps the fantasy castle in the theme park at the end of the grandstand straight is more in keeping with Formula One’s skewed view of life.
Ecclestone’s Barmy Army ploughs into a pariah state for a festival of sport this weekend. The air was full of noise