Baku hosts main race of Formula One Grand Prix of Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva watched the race
On April 30, the fourth race of the Formula One World Championship, the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan, was held at the Baku City Ring.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their family members watched the competition.
First the opening ceremony of the Grand Prix took place.
The National Anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan was played at the opening ceremony. The national anthem was performed by Aysel Mammadova, who represented Azerbaijan at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.
After the opening ceremony, the main race of the Formula One Grand Prix of Azerbaijan started.
Ten teams of two drivers each competed in Formula One. The drivers drove 51 laps for two hours at the Baku City Ring to determine the winner. At the end of two hours of intense sporting struggle the Mexican pilot of the Red Bull Racing team, Sergio Perez, became the winner of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. His teammate Max Verstappen took the second place and Ferrari driver Charles Laclair was the third.
Then the awards ceremony for the winners of the Formula One Grand Prix of Azerbaijan took place.
First the Mexican and Austrian national anthems were performed in honor of the winning athlete and team.
Prizes to pilots were handed over by Head of Baku City Executive Power Eldar Azizov, Youth and Sports Minister Farid Gaibov, president of Azerbaijan Automobile Federation Anar Alakbarov, president of International Automobile Federation Mohammed Ben Sulayem and executive director of Baku City Ring Operating Company Maksud Farzullayev.
Azerbaijan is hosting Formula One races for the seventh time. The first race, called the European Grand Prix, was held in 2016. Every year a different driver won at the Azerbaijani stage of the world championship. The unexpectedness of the result of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix makes it even more spectacular. Formula 1 experts called it the "Baku Syndrome".
