European Grand Prix 2016 Preview: Start Time, TV Info, Weather, Schedule, Odds
In a most unlikely grand prix double-header, the Formula One circus is leaving an unseasonably cold and dreary Montreal behind this week and racing halfway around the world for the more hospitable climes of Baku, Azerbaijan, on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Beginning in 1983, the European Grand Prix was typically used as a way to get around the rule that each country could host only one race per season (for example, Germany hosted two races in the early 2000s, while Michael Schumacher was dominating F1; later, Spain had two at the height of Fernandomania).
Now, after a three-year absence, the European Grand Prix is returning to the calendar—the only problem is there isn't even a consensus that Azerbaijan is actually in Europe.
Questionable geography (and politics) aside, the Baku City Circuit, winding through tight streets in the old city, looks fast and challenging—Monaco on steroids. But will it produce close, entertaining racing? That remains to be seen.
Lewis Hamilton has won the last two grands prix, following an eight-race winless streak dating back to the end of 2015. Meanwhile, Red Bull and Ferrari are nipping at the heels of the Silver Arrows, with Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel all looking capable of winning at least one of the last three races (Verstappen, of course, did win in Spain).
Ricciardo grabbed a surprise pole in Monaco, but the Baku circuit is more power-dependent, and the Renault engine is not yet a match for the Merc. Even if one of the Mercedes drivers does end up on pole, though, the team has been plagued by poor starts throughout the 2016 season.
Can Hamilton continue to build on the momentum of Monaco and Canada, or will the close, unforgiving barriers in Baku help throw up an unusual result this weekend?
Keep reading for a full race weekend preview, including TV times, current championship standings, a circuit map and guide, tyre and DRS information, weather forecast, odds and session times.
Current Standings
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With his victory in Canada combined with Nico Rosberg's struggles, Hamilton is now just nine points behind his team-mate in the drivers' championship.
After finishing second in Canada, Sebastian Vettel is back in third place, trailing only the Mercedes drivers, while the luckless Ricciardo is just six points behind his former Red Bull team-mate.
Here are the top 10 drivers heading into the European Grand Prix:
| Position | Driver | Points |
| 1. | Nico Rosberg | 116 |
| 2. | Lewis Hamilton | 107 |
| 3. | Sebastian Vettel | 78 |
| 4. | Daniel Ricciardo | 72 |
| 5. | Kimi Raikkonen | 69 |
| 6. | Max Verstappen | 50 |
| 7. | Valtteri Bottas | 44 |
| 8. | Felipe Massa | 37 |
| 9. | Sergio Perez | 24 |
| 10. | Daniil Kvyat | 22 |
With two straight wins, Mercedes are rebuilding the gap in the constructors' table that closed significantly in Spain.
While the battle for second—between Ferrari and Red Bull—looks intriguing, there is a big gap back to Williams in fourth, and again from them to Force India.
Here is the table for the constructors' championship:
| Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mercedes | 223 |
| 2. | Ferrari | 147 |
| 3. | Red Bull | 130 |
| 4. | Williams | 81 |
| 5. | Force India | 42 |
| 6. | Toro Rosso | 32 |
| 7. | McLaren | 24 |
| 8. | Haas | 22 |
| 9. | Renault | 6 |
| 10. | Sauber | 0 |
| 11. | Manor | 0 |
Baku City Circuit
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The Baku City Circuit is the second-longest track on the current F1 calendar. At 6.003 kilometres, only Spa is longer. The race will be run over 51 laps, but, despite the length of the circuit, the tight confines of the city mean there is only room for approximately 30,000 spectators, per the circuit's official website.
There still isn't a ton of specific information available about the circuit, so please excuse the sparseness of the following descriptions.
If you would like to get a feel for the track, check out this onboard video posted by the circuit.
Turns 1, 2, 3 and 4
The first four corners are unremarkable, 90-degree turns, with the first DRS zone of the lap coming between Turns 2 and 3.
"The track layout is a really impressive hybrid of the buzz of a street circuit, with its tight narrow streets and close racing, and a more traditional track, where there are high speeds and solid overtaking opportunities," said Fernando Alonso, per McLaren's race preview.
Turns 5, 6 and 7
These turns comprise a quick, left-right chicane. After that, the cars accelerate down a short straight before taking Turn 7, a tight right-hander onto a narrow section of the track. There isn't much space if you miss the apex of this corner.
Turns 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12
The old buildings and balconies are practically overhanging the track on the short blast down to Turn 8.
Turns 8 to 11 are a series of left and right kinks, but this is the incredibly narrow section that runs along the city walls, although it does open up a bit toward the end. If you thought Tabac and Rascasse were tight in Monaco, wait until you see F1 cars blasting through this section. The crane operators in this area should be busy over the weekend.
"From Turn 5 onwards, it starts to get very interesting," said Carlos Sainz, according to Toro Rosso's race preview. "It reminds me a lot of the Macau circuit: The section from Turn 7 to 12 is very similar to its tight section, while the long straight that goes from the exit of Turn 16 all the way to Turn 1 is very like its straight."
Turns 13, 14, 15 and 16
These corners form a high-speed loop through the city as the cars head back toward the water. Turn 16 is the tightest of the bunch, but they should all be taken relatively quickly.
Again, the buildings, trees and barriers look quite tight in this area.
Turns 17, 18, 19 and 20
All of these so-called corners will be taken flat out in F1 cars. The straight is 1.5 kilometres long and the cars should reach 340 km/h by the end of the pit straight, per the Baku circuit's official site.
"The layout looks fast, especially for a street circuit: there is a massive straight, with just a few flat-out kinks, and some more twisty sections which will require a compromise in terms of set-up," said Nico Hulkenberg, per Force India's race preview.
The pit entry is on the left of the main straight, right in the middle of the second DRS zone, which could make things interesting. The exit is on the left, between Turns 1 and 2.
European Grand Prix Tyres and DRS Zones
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After two races with the new ultrasoft tyre, Pirelli are going back to the medium-soft-supersoft combination we saw at the first four races of the year.
There was some grumbling among drivers in Canada that even the ultrasoft was not soft enough, so we could see some long stints, even on the supersofts, in Azerbaijan.
Unsurprisingly, the teams' tyre choices are weighted heavily toward the softer tyres for Baku. The new asphalt surface laid for the race will be relatively low-grip, like the track surface in Sochi, and no team has selected more than two sets of medium tyres.
They all have at least six sets of supersofts, though, with Mercedes, Red Bull, Renault, Toro Rosso and Haas each choosing eight.
Per the Italian company's race preview, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said: "The selection of compounds we have nominated should cope with a wide range of potential conditions; now, of course, it is down to the teams to get the most out of their choices and to identify the best possible strategies, which is why the running we see in free practice will be particularly important."
DRS Zones
While the FIA's track map does not include DRS information at the time of writing, according to the Baku circuit's official Twitter account, the DRS zones will be on the pit straight on the long pit straight, as well as the shorter straight between Turns 2 and 3.
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European Grand Prix Weather Forecast
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Baku is called the City of Winds due to the strong winds that blow in from the Caspian Sea. At the same time, its summer climate is generally warm and dry, with June bringing an average daily high of 27.3 degrees Celsius and just two days of rain, according to the World Weather Information Service.
At the time of publication, the BBC's weather forecast is calling for just that: warm temperatures and no rain.
The projected high on race day is 31 degrees Celsius, and the weekend should be mostly sunny, with cloudy periods on Friday morning.
European Grand Prix Odds
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Hamilton is the oddsmakers' favourite to stretch his winning streak to three in Baku, although, as usual, Rosberg is not far behind.
At the other end of the grid, Rio Haryanto is a Leicester City-like 5,000-1, while his Manor team-mate, Pascal Wehrlein, is a relative lock at just 3,000-1.
The best odds available for the top-10 favourites in Azerbaijan are:
| Driver | Odds |
|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 6-5 |
| Nico Rosberg | 5-2 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 6-1 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 14-1 |
| Max Verstappen | 16-1 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 28-1 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 100-1 |
| Felipe Massa | 125-1 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 200-1 |
| Sergio Perez | 200-1 |
Selected Others
Despite qualifying on pole and nearly winning in Monaco, Ricciardo is just 12-1 to qualify first in Baku—although, as mentioned, the track is more power-dependent than Monaco.
McLaren were also strong in Monaco, and you can get 9-4 odds that both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button will finish in the points on Sunday.
If you think it likely that not all 22 cars will make it past Lap 1, you can get 10-1 odds there will be three first-lap retirements and 14-1 there will be four or more.
All odds are taken from Oddschecker and correct at the time of publication.
European Grand Prix Session Times and TV Times
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Here are the times for the three free practice sessions, qualifying and the race:
| Session | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Friday | 1 p.m. |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 5 p.m. |
| Practice 3 | Saturday | 2 p.m. |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 5 p.m. |
| Race | Sunday | 5 p.m. |
The above times are in local Baku time (AZT, UTC+4). You can convert the times to your local time zone using the helpful tool on the official F1 website.
TV Times
In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports F1 and Channel 4 will have live coverage of all the sessions. The programming start times are as follows (all times BST):
| Session | Day | Time (Sky Sports) | Time (Channel 4) |
| Practice 1 | Friday | 9:45 a.m. | 9:55 a.m. |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 1:45 p.m. | 1:55 p.m. (MORE 4) |
| Practice 3 | Saturday | 10:45 a.m. | 10:55 a.m. |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 1 p.m. | 1 p.m. |
| Race | Sunday | 12:30 p.m. | 1 p.m. |
In the United States, NBC will have live coverage of all the sessions on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra, with programming start times as follows (all times EDT):
| Session | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Friday | 5 a.m. (Live Extra) |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 9 a.m. (NBCSN) |
| Practice 3 | Saturday | 6 a.m. (Live Extra) |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 9 a.m. (NBCSN) |
| Race | Sunday | 8 a.m. (NBCSN) |
Enjoy the race and the rest of the weekend.
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