Azerbaijan Sports Minister Azad Rahimov said Tuesday that he wants an F1 team "to be run under the national flag, adding the government would support any companies interested in the project," according to the AP. Oil-rich Azerbaijan "will host its first grand prix next year on a street circuit in the capital, Baku, but has almost no history of participating in motor sport, whether with teams or drivers." Ramihov said that the government was keen to see racers competing "under the flag of Azerbaijan, under the Azerbaijan team or sponsorship." He said that the idea was not government policy, and would depend on businesses becoming involved, but added "we will be totally supporting" any private investment. The inaugural Azerbaijan Grand Prix "will be run next year on an unusually long 6-kilometer track circling Baku's historic old town and city walls, under a four-year contract with an option for a further five years." Rahimov "declined to specify how much Azerbaijan was paying F1 bosses for the right to hold the race" (AP, 6/23).
