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Empty tribunes during the Formula 1 European Grand Prix in Baku prove that the viewers are not interested in the race, Igor Yermilin, the adviser to the president of the Russian Automobile Federation, said in an interview with R-Sport agency. 

“The empty tribunes were upsetting. It was surprising. There were around 30 seats for the viewers, and the tribunes in the Old City were half-empty. It is strange. In any case, the European Grand Prix is a new event, and less than 30 thousand fans arrived. The viewers showed that the race was not interesting for them. I think that it is the promoters’ failure,” Yermilin said.

According to him, the organizers faced certain problems during the Formula 1 race weekend, which do not inspire optimism connected with the next Grand Prix in Baku.

“As for the organization of the race, there were problems with the cubes during the trainings: the fixing bolts were turning out. However, it was mainly during GP2. They were working problems during the first race in a new place. A large number of flying plastic elements caused surprise. There were plastic bags and also a bedsheet flying. The image was impressive: blue rags on red Ferrari. All this will not give positive credit to the organizers,” he said.

Moreover, Interfax-Azerbaijan agency, citing the Formula 1 official Twitter page, informs that five minutes before the start of the first European Grand Prix qualifying session, a cat ran out in Baku track.

Meanwhile, according to Haqqin.az, ForceIndia driver Sergio Perez lost control on Baku track of the Formula 1 European Grand Prix.

According to Trend.az news agency, an accident took place on the 12th round during the second race in GP2 class in Baku. The security car was again on the track, and yellow flags appeared, after which three more drivers dropped out of the race.

However, Danish Renault Sport driver Kevin Magnussen told Day.az that he can understand the drivers who got into accidents. “There are too difficult turns here, I also sometimes fear to get lost in them, that is why I understand them to some extent,” Kevin commented.

European Gran Prix is held in Baku from June 17 to 19. Earlier, a number of international media outlets and human rights organizations stated about the inadmissibility of holding Formula 1 in Azerbaijan due to the authorities’ repressions against the civil society, persecution of human rights defenders, independent journalists, and other critics of the regime. Journalist Molly Scott wrote on New Internationalist website that Azerbaijan’s government ignores its citizens’ basic rights, and tha Formula 1 fans should demand to cancel the race scheduled for Baku in 2016. International news agency Reuters noted that the sporting extravaganza began to irritate the Azerbaijani society in conditions of serious economic crisis.