
Why Azerbaijan Grand Prix cannot risk F1 regional reshuffle
Why Azerbaijan Grand Prix cannot risk F1 regional reshuffle

Baku City Circuit executive director Arif Rahimov has insisted the Azerbaijan Grand Prix can't risk being shuffled from its June date as part of F1's plan to group events by region.
Teams are set to travel almost 9,000km between circuits with Azerbaijan being run back to back with next weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.
F1 is planning to regionally group events in order to cut down on travel, something that will help to meet sustainability targets whilst also relieving stress and strain from personnel that attend every race.
The move would also help teams financially at a time where a civil war between those on the grid threatens to break out over a potential increase to the $140million budget cap.
"Obviously I am not involved in F1's logistics on how they carry things and people around the world," said Rahimov in a media briefing including GPFans.
"From our side, and for a lot of the races, it is important overall... the weather, the climate, the city and the certain specifics of the race.
"We really struggled in the past when we had the race in April. That was to do with... we have to build the circuit several months before the race, we have to start building pretty much three months before the start of the race.
"If we are in April and that brings us back all the way to winter, it is extremely hard to do the set-up."
Explaining how a switch could have affected this year's event, Rahimov added: "April here was quite bad in terms of the weather.
"It was windy and it was cold and rainy and I don't think we can risk having anything like that during the race and it is more important than trying to organise the logistics in a better way.
"You want to have full grandstands, you want to have spectators, that is part of the overall picture.
"We are very happy with the date in June and we really want this date to stay."
Azerbaijan weather affects sales
Since switching from its original April date, Azerbaijan's slot in mid-June has started to become a well-established event.
Asked if there was a benefit to holding an established date, as Monaco has with its end-of-May slot, Rahimov replied: "People know that Monaco is the last weekend in May, for example, and obviously, the middle of June for us has been established as a date for Baku and I do want to keep that date.
"To be honest, I know the complexity of the logistics of F1, I know the complexity of getting from here to Canada and etcetera, but you can't bring Canada to be the season starter in March, right? People will freeze!
"So it is a similar story here in Baku, we cannot keep shuffling things around and expect and pray for the better weather.
"We have to actually figure out... that is what concerns me the most, the weather effect. It directly affects our sales. So it is really important for us to stay in June."
Related news

Albon says Baku was "easy" as Hamilton and co felt the pain

Charles Leclerc keeps faith with Ferrari despite latest failure

George Russell says nothing off table as Mercedes tackle porpoising

Mick Schumacher the latest driver to complain of porpoising pain
Most read

F1 LIVE - Alfa Romeo reveal augmented reality C43

Ricciardo responds to Red Bull Bathurst snub

F1 FIA saga takes new turn as Mercedes return to the track - GPFans F1 Recap

Why Red Bull chose Honda divorce in exchange for Ford 'control'

'Taking car leak to a whole new level' - Social media goes WILD after Alfa Romeo launch fail
F1 Standings

Races
-
Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2023
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2023
-
Grand Prix of China 2023
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2023
-
Miami Grand Prix 2023
-
Pirelli Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell'emilia Romagna 2023
-
Grand Prix of Monaco 2023
-
Grand Prix of Spain 2023
-
Grand Prix of Canada 2023
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2023
-
Grand Prix of Great Britain 2023
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2023
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2023
-
Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2023
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2023
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2023
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2023
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2023
-
Grand Prix of Brazil 2023
-
Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2023
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media

7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860