European Grand Prix 2016, Baku - Race 8/21

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Baku

The 2016 season sees Azerbaijan become the latest addition to the Formula One calendar, with capital city Baku playing host to what claims to be the fastest street circuit of the season, on a layout designed by renowned F1 track architect Hermann Tilke.

“Our brief to Tilke Engineering was simple - create a circuit that is unique, one that will help the Grand Prix in Baku quickly establish itself as one of the most exciting, thrilling venues on the F1 calendar, and one that the fans and teams alike are excited about,” says Azad Rahimov, Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sport.

“Most importantly, we wanted a track that would showcase the best of Baku, our capital city, and I am delighted that the circuit the F1 teams will race on in 2016 has achieved exactly that aim.”

Tilke claims to have created a challenging street circuit, in terms of engineering and design, and one that thrives on Baku's very attractive urban atmosphere and its great combination of history and 21st century style. The historic city centre, the beautiful seaside promenade and the impressive government house all combine to provide the perfect backdrop for a spectacular new track.

“Obviously street circuits present a number of challenges, in terms of circuit design, but we have been able to incorporate some unique features that will provide the teams and fans with fascinating racing,” he comments.

“For example, there will be an extremely narrow uphill section at the old town wall that will reward pinpoint accuracy and courage, and we have an acceleration section of almost 2.2 kilometres along the promenade which will see the cars running flat out at very high top speeds - something that will create an incredible spectacle for the race fans on track and the viewers at home.”


TV Times

Sky:
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C4:
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Track Diagram & Information

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Weather Forecast

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Tyre Set Selections Per Driver - GP of Europe

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GP of Europe Preview Quotes

https://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/latest/headlines/2016/6/europe-preview-quotes.html


WDC Standings

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Constructors' Championship Standings

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Pole Positions & Winners Per Grand Prix
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Practice 1
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Practice 2

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Practice 3

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Qualifying

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Race

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Caporegime
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Can't see any decent overtaking or racing spots on the track. It's all stop starts and 90 degree bends.

Even the long straight will just be a DRS breeze past.
 
Soldato
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Well, just to buck the trend, I'm really looking forward to it. A brand new circuit in a new location, all the naive people saying the championship was Rosberg's after 3 or 4 races and now the situation's reversed. Should make for a fun weekend.

Looks far more interesting than the snooze fest street circuit that is Monaco.
 
Caporegime
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Well, just to buck the trend, I'm really looking forward to it. A brand new circuit in a new location, all the naive people saying the championship was Rosberg's after 3 or 4 races and now the situation's reversed. Should make for a fun weekend.

Looks far more interesting than the snooze fest street circuit that is Monaco.

Situation isn't reversed though, he still has a lead and Hamilton has still used 2 more turbos and will almost certainly have engine penalties at the end of the season. Though they should be smart enough to open 2-3 engines in one race but that means a near certain race where Hamilton starts either 10th or all the way at the back where Rosberg probably gets a free 25 point gain.

There can be other tracks still where Hamilton gets hit, makes a mistake or has another engine failure as well. That was why people thought the gap was so large, because it's likely larger than it appears due to engine penalties, he's also one reprimand away from a grid penalty(and most drivers actually get a reprimand most seasons), both of his were ridiculous, neither dangerous or the result of hitting other drivers.

As such I don't think Hamilton has 9 points to gain, it's more like an effective 30-40 point gap he still has to make up.

On the track, who knows, like you I'm interested to see what happens and haven't written it off. Everyone wrote off Russia and while the race in 2014 wasn't great personally I really like the track. With different tires and no marbles offline in that epic long turn and with the right cars that track is great. This one can be as well. The straight might well be long enough to get a drs pass followed by the passed car coming back at them under slipstream... we'll see. The drive through video is horrible, the track doesn't look finished with gaps everywhere, the camera was horrible and low giving a really weird feel to it and the driver was so freaking slow it gave zero excitement.
 
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smr

smr

Soldato
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Red Bull reckon they'll lose 1.2 seconds down the long straight here... watching McLaren will be like there's an invisible parachute attached to the rear wing then :/!
 
Man of Honour
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A track everyones unfamiliar with, no runoffs whatsoever and it looks quite narrow, I think we might spend most of the race under VSC.

Situation isn't reversed though, he still has a lead and Hamilton has still used 2 more turbos and will almost certainly have engine penalties at the end of the season. Though they should be smart enough to open 2-3 engines in one race but that means a near certain race where Hamilton starts either 10th or all the way at the back where Rosberg probably gets a free 25 point gain.

Rosberg will have his share of issues though. 21 races is a long long season.
 
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