Live Evgeniy Kustov
The performance was over, but no, then it wasn’t Horner and Verstappen: first it was the turn of the world rally champions. Kalle Rovanperä and Toyota rally team boss Jari-Matti Latvala received their trophies.
23:37 Yevgeny Kustov
In Baku there is once again a cultural moment, after which it should be the turn to present the trophies to Christian Horner and Max Verstappen.
23:32 Yevgeny Kustov
The climax will soon be. For now, the title of endurance racing world champion is awarded to the Toyota team made up of Sebastien Buemi, Ryo Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley. It is true that the New Zealander did not reach Baku.
Ryo Hirakawa and Sébastien Buemi
Photo: https://twitter.com/TGR_WEC/
Before this, Mohammed Ben Sulayem praised Baku for the warm welcome and organization of the evening.
23:22 Evgeniy Kustov
The fight between Alonso and Pérez is the maneuver of the year!
But now other information has been officially confirmed. “Maneuver of the year” according to the FIA: the fight between Fernando Alonso and Sergio Pérez in the last lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix! Let’s enjoy it together again.
The video rights belong to the Formula One World Championship.
23:14 Evgeniy Kustov
Oscar Piastri – Rookie of the Year
And here is the information that was leaked on social networks as a preview. Oscar Piastri was recognized as the FIA Professional Rookie of the Year. In fact, in Formula 1 he had no competitors, and in Formula 2 the “veterans” were fighting for the title.
Oscar Piastri – Rookie of the Year
Photo: https://twitter.com/McLarenF1/
23:06 Evgeny Kustov
There was a performance by trapeze artists and then everyone said goodbye to the famous representatives of motorsports who, unfortunately, left us in 2023.
After this, it was rallycross world champion Johan Kristoffersson’s turn to receive awards.
22:43 Evgeniy Kustov
Nasser Al-Attiyah on stage with his championship Toyota. However, let us remember that starting next season the Qatari will no longer represent the Japanese.
22:30 Evgeny Kustov
Well, the ceremony continues. The winners of Formula 3 have just received their awards and now it is the turn of Formula 2. It is interesting that if all three were invited to F-3, then only the champion Theo Pourcher was invited to F-2.
22:20 Evgeniy Kustov
The Russian world karting champion received the trophy from Verstappen
The first to be called to the stage were three FIA karting world champions, among them the Russian Kirill Kutskov, who, let us remember, won the title in the OK category. The trophies were presented to the three champions by none other than Max Verstappen! This is, without a doubt, an additional pleasant memory for Kutskov and his colleagues.
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Russia’s first karting world champion commented on his victory 22:13 Evgeniy Kustov
According to tradition, everything begins with a musical moment from the host country.
22:01 Evgeniy Kustov
The gala ceremony in Baku has officially begun
The broadcast on the FIA YouTube channel has started! Our live will have its most interesting moments.
22:00 Evgeniy Kustov
Piastri, Domenicali and Pérez met at a table. Why is Cheko’s wife so unhappy?
21:59 Evgeniy Kustov
While we wait for the ceremony to begin, here are the year’s highlights from some of the FIA World Championships:
—Alonso vs. Pérez at the Brazilian Grand Prix:
— Brave overtaking of Beganovich Montoya in Formula 3:
— Porsche beats two Ferraris at the same time in the 24 Hours of Le Mans:
21:52 Evgeniy Kustov
Before the awards ceremony, Red Bull boss Christian Horner also spoke to the press. Of course, he said that in 2024 the “bulls” will have a more difficult time.
“It was a great season for us. None of us could imagine that we would end the season like this. Win 21 of 22 races, five of six sprint races. Defending both titles and breaking many records, some of which have stood since 1988. I think this represents a team that is performing at a phenomenal level. “I doubt statistically we can reach this season’s numbers again,” Horner said.
21:26 Evgeniy Kustov
By the way, it seems that the broadcast video of the ceremony will be recorded at 22:00 Moscow time, since the runners have already started posing with the championship cups, which in theory they should not have received yet…
21:25 Evgeny Kustov
And some more photos from the championship of Nasser Al-Attiyah’s co-driver, Mathieu Bommel, and the legendary Qatari himself.
Photo: https://twitter.com/OfficialW2RC
20:56 Evgeniy Kustov
As you may have already read, Hamilton did not like the gala evening in Baku for environmental reasons. Well, the FIA has agreed that next year the event will be held in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. We are waiting for the reaction of the seven-time champion!
20:48 Evgeniy Kustov
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, for his part, does not seem like a person who has serious health problems or who is very concerned about the scandal with the Wolfs.
20:44 Evgeny Kustov
And here is another world champion: Jake Dennis from Formula E. He also had his first training sessions in Abu Dhabi and tests with Red Bull, yes.
20:24 Evgeniy Kustov
This is what Hamilton had to say about the scandal involving the FIA and the Wolf family.
“The week was difficult. It bothers me that the FIA tried to question the integrity of one of the most incredible female leaders in our sport, Susie Wolf, without asking any questions and without any evidence, and then suddenly apologized. This is simply unacceptable.
We are constantly fighting to improve diversity and inclusion, but it seems that there are people in the FIA management who, every time we try to take a step forward, try to push us back. That has to change,” Lewis said.
20:21 Evgeniy Kustov
Watch Lewis Hamilton’s interesting take on the dress code. On the other hand, could anyone really stand it and not let him in?)
19:54 Evgeniy Kustov
Here you can see Max Verstappen with Kelly Piquet, Christian Horner with Geri Horner and Sergio Pérez with Carola Martínez.
19:49 Evgeny Kustov
FIA president suffers sudden concussion
If we return to the topic of the scandal, today we received unexpected news about the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. It suddenly became clear that he was feeling unwell, fell and suffered a concussion. Ben Sulayem will still participate in the ceremony, but his role will be reduced.
Of course, many felt that this information was just a way to save the FIA president from communicating with the media in the midst of the scandal that had broken out. Let’s see what the official broadcast of the evening shows us.
19:46 Evgeniy Kustov
Hamilton not happy with Baku choice
Before the gala ceremony, all champions and prizewinners participate in an interview. Little by little we will present the loudest statements, but let’s start with Lewis Hamilton, who could not think of anything better than to criticize the choice in favor of Baku. Apparently, the Brit was too lazy to fly here after such a busy season.
“I really like Baku, it’s a beautiful place, but I wonder if the FIA thought about the environment: so many people flew here, the federation itself is in Paris, so it would be easier to stay there. But this is a beautiful place, we will spend the night together, we will celebrate the achievements of wonderful people who work in our sport, we will see incredible runners who I haven’t come across all year.
19:39 Evgeniy Kustov
On the eve of the gala, a photo session will be held in the city with the participation of the champion team. Max Verstappen’s Red Bull car, several Toyota champions (WEC, the World Cross-Country Rally Championship with Nasser Al-Attiyah, the World Classic Rally Championship with Kalle Rovanperey), Jake Dennis’ Formula E car and the Johan Kristoffersson’s Volkswagen rallycross.
Photo: FIA
19:38 Evgeniy Kustov
Before we move on to the dates and, oh, the scandalous filler, a little about the gala ceremony itself. This type of event is an FIA tradition, and if previously the ceremony was usually held in Paris, where the federation’s headquarters are located, in recent years the gala evening has periodically changed location. For example, in 2018, the ceremony took place in St. Petersburg and the main character of the evening was Kimi Raikkonen, who went on a spree. Oh, what fun it was then!
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In St. Petersburg, drink! Kimi went on a party and Hamilton was criticized for his green pants
