Russian sports minister plays down talk of two F1 races

Russia's sports minister has played down suggestions the country might add another annual grand prix to the F1 calendar.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said at Sochi last weekend that he is so happy with the race and Vladimir Putin's support that he would like to see more Russian grands prix take place each year.

"Of course he would be happy with two or three races in Russia," Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko told Ria Novosti news agency, "but the financial requirements of formula one are too high.

"So it is not easy, even if there is already another track near Moscow," he added.

Mutko said Russia already has enough on its plate in readying for the Fifa World Cup in 2018.

"I have already said that until 2020 we are absolutely busy," he insisted. "We have the world cup, which is a global project in which 40 cities are involved. "All of our resources are required for that, so we are not yet ready to host another grand prix."