Nico Rosberg of Team Mercedes has won the Formula 1 European Grand Prix in Baku. The event took place in the Azerbaijani capital over the last three days. President Ilham Aliev of Azerbaijan was on hand to present the trophy to the winning team. Sebastian Vettel (Team Ferrari) came second and Sergio Perez (Team India) came third.
The circuit for the race was build around the old city of the Azerbaijani capital with historical monuments providing a stunning backdrop to the event. Millions of people watched the event in live television coverage world-wide.
Critics of the Azerbaijani government used the occasion to highlight criticism of the Azerbaijan government in the field of human rights, pointing out that the country has a number of political prisioners. Critics also pointed out that the event costed a lot of money which could have been better spent on addressing social issues. President Aliev on Friday however said that the expense was justified since it helped attract tourists to Azerbaijan.
Commonspace.eu ran a live blog of the sporting event and some of the issues surrounding it. You may visit it here.
source: commonspace.eu
photo: Historical buildings in Baku's Old city and the modern flame towers provided a stunning backdrop to the F1 race in Baku (picture courtesy of BBC).
