Williams looking forward to Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan and the City of Baku host the 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe this weekend.

This will be the first time that Formula One steps foot in the country and the street circuit is certainly set to stand out even amongst the other 20 circuits Formula One visits in 2016.

The Baku City Circuit has been designed by Hermann Tilke with the race action taking place very close by to the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Maiden Tower.

The layout of the track with a combination of long straights and twisty tight corners really could prove intriguing and Williams are looking forward to the trip.

?I?ve never been to Azerbaijan, so it should be interesting. In general, it?s a bit of an unknown for me. The track, from what we have seen, looks nice and very quick. I like going to new places, discovering new cultures and seeing new cities. I?m looking forward to learning more about the country, the city and especially the race track.? Valtteri Bottas told formula1.com.

Team-mate Felipe Massa added: ?It will be my first time in Azerbaijan so I don?t know what to expect from the country. I?m really looking forward to discovering a nice country, good people, and also a race track which will be in the middle of the town. I don?t know yet if it will be more like Monaco, or maybe a mix between Monaco and Singapore. We will wait and see. I?ve heard the straights will be longer, so maybe there will be more overtaking on this track compared to the other street tracks that we race on. I hope we come away from Azerbaijan for the first time with a good result.?

Williams chief technical officer Pat Symonds said: ?Baku City Circuit looks to be an unusual track and so far simulations have had to be done using surveyor?s maps rather than detailed track scans. Perhaps the most notable feature of the 6km anticlockwise street circuit is the flat-out section from Turn 16, through the start-finish line and up to Turn 1, where we expect cars to be reaching speeds in excess of 320km/h. The first sector consists of a number of 90-degree turns before the start of the second sector with a series of relatively sharp corners in quick succession from Turns 7 to 12. The circuit then opens up to finish sector two before another 90-degree left-hander leading on to a long straight.

formula1.com have published a video previewing the new track and it looks like it could be an instant classic.

Will the action on track look as good as the landscape behind it?