2016 European Grand Prix

2016 European Grand Prix
Race 8 of 21 in the 2016 Formula One World Championship
← Previous raceNext race →
Layout of the Baku City Circuit
Layout of the Baku City Circuit
Race details
Date 19 June 2016
Official name Formula 1 Rolex Grand Prix of Europe[1][2][3]
Location Baku City Circuit
Baku, Azerbaijan
Course Temporary street circuit
Course length 6.003 km (3.730 miles)
Distance 51 laps, 306.049 km (190.170 miles)
Weather Partly cloudy
30–33 °C (86–91 °F) air temperature
39–45 °C (102–113 °F) track temperature
2.5 m/s (8.2 ft/s) wind from the southeast[4]
Attendance 30,000 (Weekend) [5]
Pole position
Driver Mercedes
Time 1:42.758
Fastest lap
Driver Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes
Time 1:46.485 on lap 48
Podium
First Mercedes
Second Ferrari
Third Force India-Mercedes
Lap leaders

The 2016 European Grand Prix (formally known as the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 19 June 2016 at the Baku City Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan.[6] The race was the eighth round of the 2016 season, and marked the twenty-third running of the European Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship and, as of 2024, the last time the title European Grand Prix was used for a Formula One race. It was the first and last time that the race was held at the circuit and the first time that a Grand Prix had been held in Azerbaijan.

Nico Rosberg entered the round holding a nine-point lead in the World Drivers' Championship ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton. Their team, Mercedes, came in leading Ferrari by seventy-six points in the World Constructors' Championship. Rosberg went on to win the race—his first race win since the Russian Grand Prix—and extended his championship lead to twenty-four points. The result also marked Rosberg's second career grand slam. Sebastian Vettel finished second, with Force India driver Sergio Pérez completing the podium. In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes extended their lead over Ferrari to eighty-one points.

Valtteri Bottas recorded the highest ever clocked speed in an official Formula One session, at 378 kilometres per hour (235 mph) during qualifying, breaking the previous record of 369.6 kilometres per hour (229.7 mph), set by Antônio Pizzonia at Monza during the 2004 Italian Grand Prix.

As of 2023, this is the last 1-2 finish between German Formula One drivers.

  1. ^ "2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe". formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  2. ^ Mitchell, Malcolm. "2016 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". Progcovers.com. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  3. ^ Mitchell, Malcolm. "Baku City Circuit - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". Progcovers.com. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  4. ^ "GP Europa in Baku / Rennen". motorsport-total.com (in German). Archived from the original on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  5. ^ "F1 attendance figures hit four million in 2017". Formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  6. ^ "FIA confirms 2016 calendar". formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2016.