Azerbaijan is set to host a Formula One grand prix in the 2015 or 2016 season after signing a deal with Bernie Ecclestone.

"We're going to Azerbaijan," the sport's ringmaster told the Daily Mail. "The people out there are talking about holding a race in 2015. That may be a bit soon – unless it's at the end of the season; that's a possibility. But 2016 is more likely."

The newspaper said the deal to host the race in Baku, capital of the oil-rich, former Soviet nation, had been facilitated by Ecclestone's friend, Flavio Briatore, the former team principal at Renault.

Russia is scheduled to stage its first grand prix in Sochi, host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, in October, part of a growing trend away from the sport's traditional circuits in Europe.

ANN.Az