Azerbaijan will not suffer financial losses should Grand Prix be cancelled'

In the world of Formula 1, Azerbaijan is known for paying one of the largest sums of money to host a Grand Prix, but the government will not have to pay in 2020 if the race in Baku has to be cancelled. 

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is the last GP that was officially postponed. The original date on June 7 was still too early with an eye on the coronavirus pandemic, which is still spreading worldwide.

Now that seven Grands Prix have already been postponed (and Monaco has been cancelled completely) the race will have to take place later in the year. Race promoter Arif Rahimov already told Motorsport.com that the race cannot be held in the last months of the year, but knows that the former host of the European GP will not suffer any financial loss in case of a cancellation.

"I think it will be a major revenue loss for F1, unfortunately," Rahimov predicts to Motorsport.com.

“But it is force majeure, it’s something that’s outside our control. And it’s not just local, it’s a global force majeure."

The owner of the Baku City Circuit also makes it clear that in cases like this a clause is included in the contract with the F1 so there is no need to pay.

“These sorts of situations are accounted for in the force majeure clause of the contract. Our government certainly will not lose money if the race doesn’t happen. The fact that the race won’t be hosted will be beyond our control.

“It’s illegal for us to even promote the race right now, so we’re in a situation where we’re prohibited to make any actions to host the race, which would have happened in two months, so it’s literally beyond our control.”