Russia

Sochi Races and a Bowl of Shchi

Russia hosted eight Grands Prix at Sochi from 2014 to 2021, and its cooking is built on soups, porridge, bread and the produce of a vast country.

The Russian Grand Prix was held eight times, every year from 2014 to 2021, always at the Sochi Autodrom. It became a Mercedes race in every sense: the team won all eight editions, with Lewis Hamilton taking five, Valtteri Bottas two and Nico Rosberg one.

Vitaly Petrov was the first Russian driver in our records to reach the podium, finishing third in a career of 57 starts from 2010 to 2012. Daniil Kvyat went one step higher, with second as his best result among 110 starts between 2014 and 2020. Sergey Sirotkin and Nikita Mazepin each made 21 starts. Our records also list the Marussia team under Russia.

Russian cooking grew inside a vast multiethnic state, borrowing from the many peoples within its borders, while regional kitchens such as Tatar and Bashkir keep their own character. Geography matters as much as history: the north cooks with cloudberries, cod and elk, and Siberia relies on its own river fish. Through the centuries bread, grains and pies filled with mushrooms or berries have held the center of the table, and kasha, a porridge of buckwheat, millet, oats or rice, remains a staple at breakfast and beside main dishes.

Soup is where Russian cooking feels most at home. Shchi, a cabbage soup soured with sauerkraut, apples or smetana, has been the first course for more than a thousand years, on the tables of rich and poor alike, which makes it about as democratic as a dish can be. Borscht brings beets and beef, ladled out piping hot with garlic and sour cream, while solyanka is thick, sharp and salty with pickles, capers and olives. Cold soups have their place too, from okroshka, built on sour kvass with vegetables and cold meat, to a chilled pink borscht poured over cucumbers and radishes.

A taste of Russia

Circuits

Drivers

Scroll to Top