By: Azerbaijan is in celebratory mood this year. Having hosted the European Grand Prix in 2016, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has now reached its 10th edition since 2017, and the organisers were keen to seize the opportunity to explain to the journalists present the culture behind the charm of the Azerbaijani people and the passion that drives them.
Every people is defined by a distinctive trait, something that drives it to do better: that stimulus which enters your mind as soon as you wake up and does not leave you until it is time to go to sleep.
The carpet is not art, but a heritage to protect
For the people of Azerbaijan, that motivation comes from creating carpets tailored to their homes. To their lives. It is far from a trivial concept, when you think about it. For Azerbaijanis, carpet culture is not like it is in Europe. We think of a carpet as a decorative element, whereas for the Azerbaijani people it is nothing of the sort. For the people of Azerbaijan, “The carpet is my home,” our guide kept telling us. Every detail must represent what they want their home to convey to themselves, as well as to visitors, and every pattern and every decoration must also be considered in the context of the space the carpet will occupy.
Essentially, Azerbaijanis have truly used carpets and their manufacturing methods for everything. Everything! Think of something and this fascinating people will use the art of carpet-making to give it new life. A carpet can form part of the floor in a kitchen, lounge or another space, but it can also be used as a covering or as a picture, to highlight something such as antiques, something precious or even weapons. Nomads even used them to create their tents while travelling.
We were told that carpets have been an important part of Azerbaijani culture since the population learned how to make one that could provide cover while also remaining breathable. From that point onwards, carpet-making techniques were also used to cover animals during journeys, create bags to carry food, and even make shoes, gloves or men’s hats, which gentlemen used to cover their heads at night.
Carpets were also used as a means of courtship
What struck us most, however, was the art of courtship through the use of bags made using the same manufacturing method. Essentially, when a boy or a man was interested in a girl or a woman, he simply had to take one of these bags and place it in front of the chosen woman’s front door. If the woman decided to fill it with sweets or food, it was as though she had responded positively to the invitation to go out. Otherwise, if she put nothing in it, there was nothing the suitor could do.
F1 has therefore arrived in a country with a truly wonderful relationship with its passions, and a great heritage to safeguard. It is a heritage that only a sport like F1 can truly understand in full and help protect through events of this kind.
Photo: Marco Sassara
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Azerbaijan GP 2026
