2016 European Grand Prix
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. 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.
| 2016 European Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 8 of 21 in the 2016 Formula One World Championship
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Layout of the Baku City Circuit | |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | 19 June 2016 | ||||
| Official name | Formula 1 Rolex Grand Prix of Europe | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| Attendance | 30,000 (Weekend) | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Mercedes | ||||
| Time | 1:42.758 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:46.485 on lap 48 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Mercedes | ||||
| Second | Ferrari | ||||
| Third |
| Force India-Mercedes | |||
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Lap leaders | |||||
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.