Russia makes its long-awaited Formula One debut in Winter Olympic city Sochi this weekend with the sport in no mood to party even without the political clouds that hang heavy over the race. Dominant Mercedes could clinch the constructors’ title for the first time, while Britain’s Lewis Hamilton is aiming for a ninth win of the season to add to his 10-point lead over German team mate Nico Rosberg but sport will not make all the headlines.

Unthinkable in the communist era, when a Ferrari on the streets of Moscow was as rare as a Zil limousine in Las Vegas, the grand prix arrives at a time when many in the west find it unpalatable.

The crisis in Ukraine, with condemnation of Moscow and sanctions imposed by the west, the seizure of Crimea and the downing of a Malaysian airliner near Donetsk in July have all added to criticism of the race going ahead.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has shrugged off the critics and President Vladimir Putin, for whom the grand prix is a showcase legacy of the record $51 billion spent on the Winter Games. “We are happy, the sponsors appear to be happy, so we carry on,” Ecclestone said.

BIANCHI CRASH

Formula One, a regular visitor to Bahrain despite civil unrest in the Gulf kingdom, is no stranger to controversy but Sunday’s race on the streets of Sochi has also been clouded by sadness inside the tightly-knit paddock.

Marussia’s French driver Jules Bianchi, a popular member of the only Russian-registered team in the sport, remains in a critical condition in a Japanese hospital after suffering a brain injury in a crash at Suzuka last Sunday.

The accident is the most serious since Brazilian Felipe Massa suffered a life-threatening head injury in Hungary in 2009 and images of the latest crash, not broadcast publicly but circulated on the internet, have proved truly shocking.

“When we get a situation like this, it just hits us hard. Especially with a driver like Jules, who is such a nice guy.” Teams were busy setting up their garages at the circuit on Wednesday, with freight being unpacked and the cars put together after the flight from Japan, where a typhoon delayed some departures.

Closed cockpits, way forward

Formula One should consider introducing closed cockpits after Jules Bianchi’s crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, according to the Williams team leadership. The Frenchman, who drives for Marussia, is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after sustaining a head injury when his car hit a crane during Sunday’s rain-shortened race.

Enclosed cockpits could provide greater protection for drivers’ skulls.

“It’s something we have to look at,” Claire Williams, deputy team principal at Williams, said on Wednesday. (AP)