Sochi in running to host grand prix in 2012

BERNIE Ecclestone is hoping to see a grand prix held in the Winter Olympic host city of Sochi as Europe faces a drop in the number of races it can hold.

RUSSIAN ROCKET: Vitaly Petrov became the first Russian driver to compete in Formula One when he raced for Renault at the Bahrain 2010 Grand Prix last month (Getty Images)

Formula One's rights holder Ecclestone has confirmed he is looking for races to take place in New York and in Russia, with both Moscow and Sochi possibilities.

Sochi, a Black Sea resort, won the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2014 and construction has already begun to make the area ready for the number of fans that are set to descend.

There have been previous plans to take a race to the former Soviet Union but with Russia's Vitaly Petrov now driving for Renault, Ecclestone sees it as the perfect time to schedule a new venue there for 2012.

"We've got two or three places in Russia which we're dealing with at the moment," said Ecclestone.

"There is a big push for us to do something with Sochi.

"We're going to lose some races for sure, there are some races we can afford to lose without too much problem.

"I've spoken to the countries to see what we can come up with."

Some of Europe's established races may face the chop, in particular those countries which currently hold more than one race like Spain, unless the F1 calendar expands from its current 19 events.

There have been a number of changes in host venues for Formula One in recent years with Korea set to hold its first race later in the year and India currently finishing construction work to be ready for 2011.

And with hosting the Winter Olympics a mammoth task in itself, the biggest challenge facing Sochi would be to add to its existing infrastructure within two years to ensure it had the capacity to host a Formula One event.