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Azerbaijan has expressed interest to host a sprint weekend at its Baku Grand Prix next season, the event’s promoter Arif Rahimov said in a statement on Monday. Speaking with the reporters in a conference call, Rahimov said that he would be discussing the subject-matter with F1 authorities over this year’s June 12 race. An entirely new governing body of Formula One, which is reportedly seeking to expand aggressively around the globe, have proposed to increase the number of sprint weekends to six from current three by next season.
Baku looks to host a sprint event next year
In tandem, speaking with the reporters, Baku Grand Prix promoter Rahimov said, “I quite like the sprint races, they add a lot more action.
The appeal with the sprint race, not just for Baku but for any promoter, is definitely that it looks like it will bring more fans on Saturday. We're a market where most of the fans are not as educated in the sport itself so when you say that we have two races...that will definitely increase the attendance on a Saturday and give them more value for money”.
Besides, expressing an out and out optimism over Saturday sprint weekends, Rahimov said, “I'd be glad to have the sprint race here in Baku next year. I hope we are one of those six races that will get it. I'm a big proponent of it.
I really like the idea. I think it's good just to mix things around a little bit throughout the years. Things get boring and people just get too used to the same format and then they lose their interest”. Baku GP had been held without spectators last year due to pandemic restrictions.
