Azerbaijan intends to keep F1 race beyond 2026

Promoters of the Azerbaijan GP are determined to stay on the F1 calendar beyond the current 2026 contract.

Flavio Briatore admitted at the Baku street race on the weekend that he was involved with the event from day one.

"About ten years ago, I spoke about it with the president, Ilham Aliyev, who wanted to put the country on the map," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Back then, nobody knew anything about it, now it’s sold out, with spectators coming from half the world."

Indeed, millions around the world now know about the historic city, with remnants of the Middle Ages blending with beautiful old architecture, buildings from the subsequent Soviet era, and ultra-modern skyline developments.

"All these styles tell the story of the city’s evolution," Arzu Huseynova, one of the local promoters of the event, told NOS. Baku honours its history, but it also looks forward.

"You can see that mix of old and new all along the circuit."

However, the Formula 1 event, now dating back to the first edition in 2016, is not without controversy.

The teams even had to operate without Formula 1’s official meteorological and radar service, Meteo France, at the weekend because of the French government’s stance against the ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

Some strict rules are also in place for the attending media and journalists, according to NOS. One photographer found that the best spot to capture the F1 cars was along the 12th century city wall, requiring him to access the roof of a restaurant.

But when he tried to take a photo of the other side of the city from that vantage point, he was told that was forbidden. Why? "Because those are the rules," the restaurant employee told him.

Co-promoter Huseynova also refused to answer questions about the Armenia conflict, which has raged since the end of 80s over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

For Azerbaijan, the focus of the grand prix is purely about sport and promotion of the country.

"Formula 1 is an opportunity to show that we are capable of organising major events," Huseynova said. "Since the first edition in 2016, the attention for our country has increased enormously.

"It brings thousands of fans to the city and also creates a lot of jobs."

The current race contract expires after 2026, and Huseynova said the intention is to keep Azerbaijan on the Formula 1 calendars of the future.

"The continuous investments in infrastructure and entertainment are a signal that we want to make the event better every year," she said.