05/03/2014
NEWS STORY
An interesting report about a Formula One race taking place in Azerbaijan is doing the rounds. The race will take place in 2015 or 2016 according to the report and it has quotes from F1's boss Bernie Ecclestone to back it up.
The article claims that the event is expected to be held on the streets of Baku, the capital of the oil-rich country which sits at the crossroads of western Asia and eastern Europe.
"We're going to Azerbaijan," Ecclestone is quoted as saying. "The people out there are talking about holding a race in 2015. That may be a bit soon – unless it's at the end of the season; that's a possibility. But 2016 is more likely."
The article goes into a good level of detail about the project and even states that the deal has been facilitated by Ecclestone's friend and former Renault F1 team principal Flavio Briatore. However, the one point which is missing is that it isn't the first time this has come to light.
In July last year a report was published in German newspaper die Welt which quoted Ecclestone saying that "if everything goes by plan we will race in Baku."
It isn't clear if a deal has actually been signed since then and the lack of a definite date for the race to take place suggests not. If this is the case then the situation does not seem to have moved forward much from when the previous report was written.