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F1 chief: Azerbaijan circuit makes North America look bad
Bernie Ecclestone sure loves the site of Formula 1’s newest grand prix.
Formula 1 is making its first trip to Azerbaijan for the European Grand Prix this weekend. The new track goes through the streets of the country’s capital, Baku. It’s a race a week and halfway around the world from the last F1 race, the Canadian Grand Prix held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.
Why is that important? Well, Ecclestone, the chief executive of the Formula 1 Group, thinks the Baku track makes North America look like “a bit of a s***hole.” Really. Here’s his full quote from F1i.com:
“I didn’t walk it but went around it – when I laid it out in the first place I was told I was mad,” Ecclestone said. “Trying to get the old city and the new city together, but it looks like it has worked out alright.
“We just left the greatest place in the world North America – and compared to here, it is a bit of a s***hole isn’t it?”
Ecclestone, 85, is known for saying peculiar and downright offensive things. His propensity for controversial quotes makes it amusing when you see graphics saying “Bernie says don’t drink and drive” during Formula 1 broadcasts.
It’s hard to take common sense advice from a guy who once said that “women should be dressed in white like all other domestic appliances.”
Ecclestone’s word choice for North America aside, it’s also hard to see how Azerbaijan makes North America look bad. Here’s the first paragraph about the country from Human Rights Watch:
“Azerbaijan’s government has escalated repression against its critics, marking a dramatic deterioration in an already poor rights record. In recent years , dozens of human rights defenders, political and civil activists, journalists, and bloggers have been arrested or imprisoned on politically motivated charges, prompting others to flee the country or go into hiding. Bank accounts of independent civic groups and their leaders have been frozen, impeding their work, or in some cases forcing them to shut down entirely. New legal regulations make it almost impossible for independent groups to get foreign funding. While criticizing the increasing crackdown, Azerbaijan’s international partners have failed to secure rights improvements.”
The country recently released a journalist who had been imprisoned for over 500 days; a journalist who had gone after the country’s human rights record. Perhaps the situation is similar to the Russian Olympics in 2014 – a lot of things looked great for TV, but many underlying societal problems weren’t addressed.
F1 also now races in Sochi, where the Olympics were held.
And if you’re wondering if Ecclestone is concerned about Azerbaijan’s treatment of people, he’s not. He said he “absolutely” has a clear conscience about F1’s trip to the country.
“The minute people tell me what human rights are, you can look at how, why and when it applies. Does anyone know what human rights are?” he said to F1i.
The Azerbaijan government is subsidizing the construction and financing of the race and a member of the government said he hopes the race will turn a profit in 2017. The country has a five-year deal to host the grand prix.
The race begins at 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
