2016 Track Preview; European Grand Prix, Baku

As we head to Baku for the European Grand Prix this weekend for the eighth race of the 2016 season, Pirelli have selected the White medium, Yellow soft and the Red supersoft compound tyre as Formula One visits its first all-new country since Russia in 2014 (the 32nd country the championship has been to since 1950), with the last European Grand Prix being in Valencia in 2012 which Fernando Alonso won.

From what the figures suggest this event is meant to be the fastest street circuit seen so far. But with Pirelli has had to rely on simulation and acquired information rather than real data, which makes the task of nominating tyres more complex.

As this is a street circuit, with new asphalt, low grip and high track evolution is expected. Wear and degradation might be quite low, which is why a medium spectrum of tyres is chosen. Overtaking is tricky with a narrow track, which means that qualifying and strategy is vital. But there hasn't been an exceptional variation in the tyre choices from each team for Baku. While the circuit uses existing streets, a lot of the surface is brand new asphalt.

As teams have no knowledge of the track, we would expect a lot of running in free practice. With very high top speeds are expected on the long 2.2-kilometre straight along the esplanade; Baku will also be the second-longest lap of the year (6.003km) after Spa. The local weather forecasts have predicted warm weather but also high humidity: rain is possible.

Here's my facts and figures as well as my predictions heading into the European Grand Prix this weekend.

Facts and Figures

•The first European GP was held in 1983 at the Brands Hatch circuit
•The race has been ran 22 times until this year
•Five different venues have held the GP over the years- Brands Hatch, Valencia, Donington, Jerez and Nurburgring
•Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver at the event with six wins
•Ferrari is the most successful constructor at the event with seven wins
•Fernando Alonso is the most successful driver at the event with three wins

Winners from last 5 European Grand Prix:-

•2008- Felipe Massa
•2009- Rubens Barrichello
•2010- Sebastian Vettel
•2011-Sebastian Vettel
•2012-Fernando Alonso

My five things to look out for this weekend:-

1.Tyre performance-With Pirelli bringing a relatively normal tyre choices to Baki, all eyes will be upon Pirelli to see if the tyres will spice up the action in Baku this weekend. But it will be interesting to see how that affects tyre usage and strategy during the race as there is no data available for them. Will this impact anyone's race on Sunday as a result?

2.Safety Cars- With the demands of the Baku circuit, there is no room for mistakes or errors especially at Turn 8. And if that does happen, the Safety Car will be brought out onto the circuit. But will we see the Safety Car making an appearance this weekend?

3.Performance of Ferrari- With Ferrari at the moment being Mercedes' closest competitor at the moment, all eyes will be upon Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen this weekend to see if they can translate their form they have shown so far this season. Question is; can they win this weekend and take the fight to Mercedes?

4.Performance of the Mercedes team- With Mercedes being the firm favourites heading into the race this weekend, all eyes will be upon them to see if they will still be as competitive as they were last season. But with Ferrari showing good performance and pace in the first few races, has their advantage and stranglehold on the sport been broken?

5.Performance of Daniel Ricciardo- With Ricciardo now extending his contract with Red Bull this week and after everything that has happened to him recently; we will want to show that his performances in the last few races were no fluke. Will this weekend be the lucky weekend that Ricciardo needs?

Sky Sports F1 are showing uninterrupted coverage of every Practice session, Qualifying and race for the Grand Prix (and every race of the season) and Channel Four also are showing coverage, details for both are below:-

•*Sky Sports F1*:- Friday (Practice 1 and 2) 9.45pm and 1.45pm, [Replays throughout Friday], Saturday (Practice 3 and Qualifying) 10.45pm and 1.00pm, [Replays throughout Saturday], Sunday (Race) 1.30pm

•*Channel Four*- Friday (Practice 1) 9.55am, Saturday (Practice 3 and Qualifying) 10.55am and 1pm, Sunday (Race) 1pm

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa

Circuit by www.grahamandleigh.co.uk