Formula 1 in Baku has earned the city half a billion in four years

We've now had four years of Formula 1 action in the streets of Baku. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix has produced some memorable races along with some boring editions. It is one of the races that many fans look forward to given the variation of the names on the podium. The event is also a success according to the figures. 

Half a billion

According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers who have investigated the impact of the race weekends, the Grand Prix has made $506.3 million since 2016. This amount is the result of direct and indirect expenses that can be linked to Formula 1 over a period of four years.

This includes money spent on hotels, professional services, catering and transport. This direct spending represents $300 million of the total figure. This shows that Formula 1 can be very lucrative almost regardless of what happens on-track. 

The remaining $200 million is from indirect expenditure, which includes construction work, expenditure in business sectors and more. In 2016 and 2017, the weekend as whole created between 5-10,000 extra jobs. The TV audiance figures saw an increase of 10% when comparing 2018 to 2019. 

Arif Rahimov, director of the organization: "We have always emphasized that Formula 1 in Baku is more than a show event, instead it also causes economic growth and delivers social and cultural changes. That creates new possibilities and benefits for everyone who lives and works here."

"As the report makes clear, in recent years our wildest expectations have far exceeded. Now that we have a new contract with Formula 1 that at least guarantees a race until 2023, we look forward to organizing with confidence and optimism from more successful races."