THE PLUS-THREE-YEARS FORMULA

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix of Formula-1 drew the attention of the world community in the final days of April. In addition, the existing contract with Azerbaijan was extended until 2026.

Over the years, the six-kilometre, twenty-turn Baku City Circuit designed by Hermann Tilke has seen many memorable races. The first winner of Formula 1's Baku stage, which started in 2016, was Nico Rosberg. Subsequently, the prestigious first-place award went to Daniel Riccardo, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen.

The best of the races

This year's Baku City Circuit saw the qualifying round of the 100km sprint event, which promised fans a storm of excitement at every session. It also hosted the first race of the season in a new format of six sprint races. According to Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1 , the race in Azerbaijan attracts fans from all over the world: "Baku City Circuit has become a very popular venue for Formula 1. In addition to constant fierce battles we can see recently, this city circuit has witnessed some of the most memorable and exciting races. It is great that our relations with Azerbaijan are getting stronger every year, and there is a mutual interest in continuing the partnership and development. The Baku race has been watched with great interest around the world".

Following the signing of the new contract, Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov shared his views on the agreement: "We are pleased to confirm the continuation of our partnership with Formula One. The economic, social and cultural importance of the ongoing race and the seventh season of the competition for our city and country is undeniable. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will continue to energise the fans for another three years. Some of the races held in Baku are remembered as the best in the history of the race. We look forward to giving local and international F1 fans even more unforgettable moments over the next three years. The conclusion of the new agreement coincides with a week when ticket sales for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix reached record levels and tens of thousands of fans from over 100 countries gathered for the event".

For the first time the Baku City Circuit hosted the first Formula 2 races as well. They were won by British driver Oliver Berman of the Preme Racing team. His teammate Frederick Vesti finished second, while Hitech driver Jack Crawford was third.

One of the interesting events of the current tournament in Baku was when the Alpha Tauri driver Yuki Tsunoda had to end the sprint race due to a technical failure – his car had a tyre torn off. In fact, 11 teams compete for the first place in Formula 2, each represented by two pilots. Competitors made 21 laps around the Baku City Circuit.

Honorary supporters

The second day of the tournament saw Red Bull Racing's Sergio Perez as a winner of the Formula One sprint race. He was followed by Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who finished second, and Perez's teammate Max Verstappen, who came third. In total, there were 10 teams participating in the race. At the end of the tournament, points were awarded to the drivers who finished in the top eight. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) strengthened his lead in the standings after the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan. Being the third best, the Dutch driver scored 6 points - now he has 75 points in total. He is followed by the winner of the current race Sergio Perez (62), who scored eight points this time. Sprint runner-up Charles Leclerc scored seven points and moved up to eighth place in the overall standings with 13 points. Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin (48 points) rounded out the top three. The sixth best Spanish driver added another three points to his asset.

During all three days, some 2,500 family members of the fallen fighters and veterans of the 44-day Patriotic War who cemented our nation's historic victory in Garabagh watched the prestigious competition as invited guests of honour. On the second day of the tournament they were greeted by the Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports Farid Gayibov. He said that he was proud to see the family members of the fallen fighters and veterans, who showed courage and bravery during the 44-day-long Patriotic War, among the fans.

Memorable moments

The winner of the seventh Azerbaijan Grand Prix was Red Bull's Sergio Perez. His teammate Max Verstappen and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc finished second and third, respectively.

The Baku race was once again went down in history with a number of interesting moments. At the start of the race, on the second lap, a yellow flag was raised after Kevin Magnussen (Haas) damaged the front wing of his car. Then the reigning world champion Max Verstappen managed to overtake the Ferrari driver Charles Leclair on lap four and took the lead in the race.

On lap twelve Team Alpha Tauri driver Nick De Vries was left off the grid for his first race in Baku. After an incident that caused the calling of a safety car and restart of the race, Sergio Perez overtook his teammate Verstappen making it to the top of the leaderboard. On lap 37 Alfa Romeo's Chinese driver Zhou Guangyu had to leave the race for technical reasons.

Sergio Perez's victory broke the so-called Baku syndrome - he became a repeat winner of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, winning the title of the world's strongest driver for the second time in Baku and climbing to the Baku podium for the fourth time. Perez retains the record for the most podium appearances in Baku.

Two-time world champion Max Verstappen leads the standings with 93 points. Perez is just six points behind his teammate. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) is third in the race table with 60 points.