Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak arrived in Baku to clarify conditions of further cooperation in annual holding of Formula 1 races in Sochi, Vestnik Kavkaza correspondent reports.
"Sochi and Baku work together, complement each other. We are partners, we are not competitors. This is the kind of business where you can only compare the beauty of races, the best organization. We share and help each other. Our countries are friends, Russia and Azerbaijan are strategic partners. As for Sochi, there's an exchange of experience," he noted.
"As for cooperation, everything is fine, we will continue it. We extended the contract to 2025. We agreed that promoter company will be replaced, it will no longer be Krasnodar's 'Omega', but a new company, which will receive financing from private companies. We no longer have budgetary funding for this event - only business pays for it, so it will also finance promoter company," he said.
Speaking about the reasons for postponement of the Sochi Grand Prix until autumn, he stressed that this situation shows flexibility of new leadership of Formula 1: "We met with them at Formula 1 in Sochi in late April. Very comfortable, very constructive, flexible partners. It's a pleasure to work with them. It was our proposal to postpone the race until September. It seemed to us that this is a more acceptable time of the year. In addition, we also made this decision due to the 2018 FIFA World Cup."
"The Baku City Circuit left a very good impression. Despite the fact that this is a street race and the facilities are temporary, everything is very colorful and well organized. We really like it. We will learn from Baku's experience. Everything is perfectly organized,” he concluded.
