Promoters of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix are intent on keeping the event on the Formula 1 calendar beyond the expiry of the current contract in 2026.
Flavio Briatore, who has been involved with the event since its inception, revealed during the Baku street event that he was a key figure from the very start.
"About ten years ago, I spoke about it with the president, Ilham Aliyev, who wanted to put the country on the map," Briatore told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Back then, nobody knew anything about it, now it's sold out, with spectators coming from half the world," he added.
Today, millions globally recognise the historic city of Baku, where remnants of the Middle Ages coexist with beautiful architecture from various eras, including the Soviet period, alongside an ultra-modern skyline.
"All these styles tell the story of the city's evolution," Arzu Huseynova, one of the local event promoters, told NOS.
"Baku honours its history, but it also looks forward. You can see that mix of old and new all along the circuit," Huseynova added.
However, the Formula 1 event, first held in 2016, has not been without controversy.
At this year's race, the teams had to operate without Formula 1's official weather and radar service, Meteo France, due to the French government's position on the ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
There are also strict rules in place for attending media and journalists, according to NOS. One photographer, after finding a prime spot along the 12th-century city wall, was told he couldn't take photos of the other side of the city. The reason? "Because those are the rules," the restaurant staff told him.
Co-promoter Huseynova declined to comment on the Armenia conflict, which has persisted since the late 1980s over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
For Azerbaijan, the focus of the grand prix is firmly on sport and promoting the nation.
"Formula 1 is an opportunity to show that we are capable of organising major events," Huseynova explained. "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," she added.
The current contract with Formula 1 is set to expire after 2026, but Huseynova confirmed the aim is to ensure that Azerbaijan remains a fixture on the Formula 1 calendar.
"The continuous investments in infrastructure and entertainment are a signal that we want to make the event better every year," she concluded.
