Azerbaijan GP wants return to June F1 date in 2019

The promoter for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is keen to see the Formula 1 race return to a summertime slot on the calendar in 2019 after being brought forward to April this year.

Both the inaugural F1 race in Baku in 2016 and the second running in 2017 were staged in June following the Canadian Grand Prix, but the 2018 event was brought forward to April to avoid clashing with national celebrations marking 100 years since Azerbaijan became a republic.

Last month’s grand prix offered noticeably colder conditions than the previous Baku events following the date change, but race promoter Arif Rahimov is hopeful of a return to June for 2019.

“We want to move back to June, because it takes a while to set up the circuit and it takes us about three or four months just to do the setup work,” Rahimov said when asked by Crash.net about plans for the date of next year’s race in Monaco earlier this week.

“If we’re in April, that means we have to start in the winter, and you have the adverse weather, you have all the rains and winds and everything that stop you from working effectively and efficiently.

“We definitely want to move it to June. We need to see the calendar. I don’t know what the plan for Formula 1 is next year and how they want to arrange it.

“But ideally we would like to hold the race in June.”

Despite speculation suggesting Baku could be dropped from the F1 calendar for 2019 in the event of Miami’s addition, Rahimov confirmed there will be at least two further runnings of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with a potential break clause only becoming active after 2020.