Azerbaidjan brings nothing to F1 according to Liberty Media
With Bernie Ecclestone, we've become accustomed to untimely media appearances to raise the pressure during negotiations. It would seem that Greg Maffei is following in his footsteps, with a remark about the Azerbaidjan Grand Prix.
Bernie Ecclestone especially loved to stir up the media waters, blowing hot and cold on the future of several Grand Prix races. In 2010, he even went as far as to threaten the most iconic date on the calendar, that of Monaco.
If Liberty Media intends to develop the sport in the coming years, the new leaders seem to question some of the decisions made by their predecessors. Thus, the Azerbaijani section of the BBC reports remarks made by Greg Maffei during a recent conference in Florida, explaining the strategy previously used by FOM to establish the calendar and notably the first questions asked during discussions with new circuits: « How much can I get? How much are you putting in immediately? »
According to the CEO of Liberty Media, this has led to decisions that are not necessarily in the best interest of the sport: « We then ended up having races in places like Baku in Azerbaijan, where they paid us large fees, but this does not help at all in building the brand’s long-term image and the health of our business. »
If the remark can obviously be taken badly by the organizers who have spent 34 million dollars per season to bring F1 to their old city, it is not entirely without sense. Indeed, the sport’s popularity remains very limited in this country, which finances its extensive communication plan with its oil and has been led by the Aliyev family since its independence in 1993.
The goal of the race is to attract many tourists, which explains why the option of an urban race was chosen. Nevertheless, the first edition only drew 18,500 spectators on race day, with only 30% being foreigners. The schedule conflict with the 24 Hours of Le Mans certainly did not help in getting motorsport fans to travel to the Caspian Sea.
Greg Maffei therefore believes that the economic potential of the sport would be enhanced by replicating the recent successes of races like Mexico, which attracts tens of thousands of spectators throughout the weekend: « Our job is to find partners who pay us well but also help us promote the product. It’s our responsibility to share best practices. Some races considered the most exciting include: Abu Dhabi, the night race in Singapore, Mexico. What is going well for these races? We need to better share it with the promoters of cities where things are going a little less well. »
Obviously, the event promoter also wanted to respond to this direct attack. Arif Rahimov therefore replied to Reuters: « Obviously, it annoys us. Mr. Maffei has been involved in F1 for less than six months. We have been working on this project for three years. Therefore, we have more experience in F1 than they do. I think it’s ignorant to say something like that but we shall see. »
In this context, it’s not surprising that Baku is launching a promotional campaign with David Coulthard, with the clear objective of showcasing the former driver in the city’s streets to promote it in international media, and also to promote the sport to the local population through fan meetings:
Lovely day for exploring the castle, right @therealdcf1? #F1 #AzerbaijanGP #F1Baku pic.twitter.com/f730hWZVh4
— Baku City Circuit (@BakuCityCircuit) March 15, 2017
It is nevertheless gratifying to see that the new owners of F1 are looking to go to destinations with significant economic potential, not just from the perspective of fees that the government can pay, but from the perspective of the number of spectators the race can attract. The news of the return of the French Grand Prix next year is a first indication going in the right direction.
With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr
