The construction of the Sochi Olympic Park Circuit marked the end of a thirty-year campaign for a Russian Grand Prix, with plans for a "Grand Prix of the Soviet Union" originating as early as 1983. In October 2011, the Russian government set aside US$195.4 million for the construction of the circuit. The circuit received its final approval from the FIA in August 2014. The International Olympic Committee was given the power to delay the race until 2015 if preparations for the race interfered with the Winter Olympics.
The 5.848 km (3.634 mi) circuit was the fifth-longest circuit on the 2021 Formula One calendar, behind Spa-Francorchamps, Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Baku City Circuit, and Silverstone. It featured 18 turns, long straights, and medium-speed corners. The circuit is built around the Sochi Olympic Park, which includes venues that hosted competitions in ice hockey, speed skating, curling, figure skating, and short track, as well as the Fisht Olympic Stadium. The surface was not laid until after the Closing Ceremony of the Olympics.
The circuit, designed by German architect Hermann Tilke, has the start grid on the northern edge of the Olympic Park next to the railway station. It then runs along the outer edge of the central Sochi Medals Plaza and circles the plaza counterclockwise, making turns around the Bolshoy Ice Dome. The long Turn 3 has been compared to Turn 8 in Istanbul Park. The circuit held the Russian Grand Prix from 2014 to 2021.
The inaugural World Championship Russian Grand Prix took place in 2014, with the circuit hosting the Grand Prix up to 2021. The circuit was initially planned to be included in the 2022 Formula One calendar, but the Russian Grand Prix was suspended on February 24, 2022, and then cancelled on March 1, 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The circuit is now no longer on the Formula One calendar.
The TCR International Series raced at Sochi in 2015 and 2016. With international championships leaving Russia, it was decided to dismantle the 5.848 km (3.634 mi) big circuit, leaving only the 2.313 km (1.437 mi) short layout where turn 1 is connected to turn 13. The last race at the old layout, which was the Russian Endurance Cup, took place on November 4, 2023. The grand prix circuit was closed on November 6, and the shorter layout began to be primarily used from December 15. On April 1, 2024, the Sochi Autodrom was renamed to Sirius Autodrom, after the Sirius urban-type settlement which was built near the Olympic Park in 2020.
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