On October 3, a petition was launched on Change.org calling on President of Formula 1 Group Stefano Domenicali to cancel the Formula 1 races in Azerbaijan.
The petition was created by a profile named “For Anush Apetyan”, referring to the Armenian female sniper whose body was apparently mutilated by Azerbaijani soldiers during the September 12-14 border clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces. It was signed by nearly 25,000 people, mostly Armenians, as of the time of writing this article. According to Change.org, the petition was set to be one of the most signed on the website, once 25,000 sign it.
The petition states that Formula 1 Group has ‘a responsibility’ to have its tournaments take place in countries that are ‘welcoming to people of all races and genders’, then citing Freedom House 2022 Index where Azerbaijan was ranked the 9th least free nation in the world. The statement went on to accuse Azerbaijan of being an Armenophobic and genocidal state.
The Grand Prix in Azerbaijan has brought in over 500 million dollars to Azerbaijan’s economy – which contributes to the military carrying out these crimes against humanity. We reiterate – It is the responsibility of sporting organizations to ensure its events are held in countries that are accessible and safe for people all races. Formula 1 – CEO Stefano Domenicali – We ask that you do the responsible thing and move the Grand Prix out of Azerbaijan!
The petition
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the first time was held in 2017 in Baku, and is due to last until at least 2024. For years, ordinary Baku residents have expressed disgruntlement about their city hosting the Grand Prix for several days every year, mainly because of the noise and the closure of traffic that the race causes in the center of the city.
Therefore, ironically though, the Armenian petition led many Azerbaijanis to react “supportively” on social media.
“It’s a good step for peace,” one user wrote on Meydan Tv’s post of the news, while many asked for the link for the petition to sign too. “After Sayat Nova [an 18th-century Armenian poet and musician who composed both in Armenian and Azeri], nothing else united the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples as Formula 1. Both nations support not to hold the competition in Baku,” another wrote on Twitter.
