Inconvenient Formula

Baku is almost completely paralyzed by grids stretched along the whole center and stone slabs that have blocked the roads. Before the competition, there was still a week, and the route of some buses, and even bus stops, had already been changed. So, a stop near the Puppet Theater near the Prymorsky Park was liquidated and covered with concrete slabs, and people are forced to land either on Azneft Square or near Sahil Metro, crossing almost 2 km on foot. And what about the residents of the settlements of Lokbatan and Bailov, who were completely blocked in their places of residence?

I would like to say that I am absolutely not against sports and other events taking place in our country, especially if they bring certain dividends to the budget. By the way about the profits from Formula 1, last year the former Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov, not revealing the amount spent on the race in 2018, said that the country gets the main income from ticket sales.

"The main source of income is ticket sales. Until we have our own advertising spots, we cannot attract sponsors, all advertising belongs to "Formula-1", Rahimov noted.

He added that the spectators of the race are mostly residents of Russia. Hearing the words of the ex-minister, director Stanislavsky would exclaim "I do not believe!". Numerous photographs taken by independent bloggers and journalists clearly indicate semi-empty, and often empty, stands. Logic is a stubborn thing, you cannot argue with it: semi-empty tribunes mean losses, even despite declining, according to the director of marketing and public relations of Baku City Circuit (ARIA), Nigar Arpadariy, expenses.

Arpadarai's statements are also controversial, the British expert refutes it, but we will speak about it later. It is worth noting that even the reduced costs are rather high, and for renting a part of the boulevard BSS pays 1,300,000 manat to the Office of the Seaside Park; and the arrival of overseas celebrities costs the country much more expensive. Whether these costs are returned, the question is controversial, but it is fact that citizens of the capital for at least 10 days suffer moral and physical inconveniences. Double rows of grids, forming live traffic jams from people in the central streets, the inability to get to the appointed place at the appointed time flutters nerves, and sometimes disrupts important financial transactions. In general, Baku for the period of the "Formula 1" stage reminds Leningrad in blockade during the Great Patriotic War.

In no country, world-famous races are held in the streets of the center of the capital. Until now, the Grand Prix was held in the UK, Brazil, Belgium, the USA, China, Bahrain, etc. For example, in the UK, the race takes place on the Silverstone track near the village of Silverstone in Northamptonshire, in Bahrain on a specially constructed Sahir circuit, in Brazil on the José Carlos Pace racetrack, in China at the circuit in Shanghai. Only in Monaco, the pilots of Formula 1 show their skills on the urban outskirts. But this has its own reason - the country's territory is so small that there is nowhere to race.

In Azerbaijan in the era of economic transition from the oil needles to the non-oil sphere and the development of tourism in the regions, it was possible to build an autodrome in one of them, and thus kill two birds with one stone: to free the residents of the capital from a race blockade and attract tourists to the region, thereby earning a double profit.

Total expenses for Formula-1 in Azerbaijan are not disclosed, but according to the British expert, in 2016 only $ 34 million was spent to conduct the Grand Prix in Baku, and every year the amount of expenses is increased by 10%. And what about the words of the representative of the BCC on reducing costs? According to unofficial data, the amount of expenses for the Grand Prix in 2016 amounted to 150 million manats, including concerts, construction of pit stops, road preparation and stands. So, if you summarize all the costs for the holding of the Formula 1 stage for 10 years, the construction of a special motor-racing track is not very difficult, because the newly constructed racing tracks for the Grand Prix of the United States, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi were spent 200 million euros. After all, the main thing for the country and its leadership is the calm and improvement of citizens.