Organizer GP Baku: "We want to prevent the events in Melbourne"

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix, after postponing the first six races, would be the season opener of 2020, but the organizer of the Grand Prix decided to postpone this race as well. According to Arif Rahimov, CEO of the organiser in Baku, the financial risk was too great to organize the race now.

"After the events in Australia it all became a lot clearer", Rahimov tells Motorsport.com. "I guess it must have been a huge disappointment for the organizer, after all the hard work, time and money spent getting the event ready. All that preparation to cancel the race at the last minute".

It can't be a last minute decision

The early postponement of the Grand Prix in Baku is for that reason, according to Rahimov. "I want to avoid that situation. We also have a lot of preparation to do, so we are not a circuit where that late decision can be made, because we have to get everything ready, which takes time."

"After that race was cancelled and more international events were postponed, such as the European Football Championship and the Olympic Games, it became clear to us that organising a Grand Prix was going to be very difficult". According to Rahimov, the circuit has too many parts that take a lot of time. "It takes two to three months to get the circuit ready. Not to mention the advertisements and all the other things that come with it. We can't do that last minute."