Northumberland men fly 'iconic' red and yellow county flag on TV at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Josh English and Liam Coates are in Baku for the Formula 1 – but they took a little bit of home with them on the trip of a lifetime in the form of Northumberland’s flag.

The lads, 22, have had their photographs taken with the red and yellow flag at various points around the Baku City Circuit.

Eagle-eyed viewers watching the coverage may have spotted the familiar flag waving in the background of some television shots over the weekend.

Josh told the Gazette: “Needed to take a bit of the North East with us – Northumberland’s iconic and so is the flag, a bit different to a normal Newcastle United flag, been stopped quite a few times by people wanting to know where it’s from, so was good to get it on the map and great to see it reach the TV too!”

Though the flag is the banner of arms for Northumberland County Council, its origins pre-date the local authority and it’s a much-loved piece of local tradition.

The Grand Prix race took place on Sunday, June 12 over 51 laps, eventually won by Max Verstappen. And Red Bull took a one-two finish, with Sergio Perez in second position.

The eighth round of the F1 season will take place in Montreal, Canada – at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve – on Sunday, June 19.

Josh and Liam, of the Cramlington/Dudley area, arrived in Azerbaijan on Friday, June 10 after travelling via Istanbul. Next, they are heading off to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, June 15.