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Alonso expects 'unique' Baku circuit to provide drama

Fernando Alonso believes the "unique" Baku City Circuit has "all of the ingredients" to provide a dramatic Grand Prix of Europe.

The inaugural race in Azerbaijan takes place this weekend around the streets of the capital city, with the circuit expected to see the highest top speed of any street circuit on the calendar. There are also tight and twisty sections, including the very narrow complex from Turn 8 to Turn 12, and Alonso - who has previously visited the track as an ambassador - is expecting an exciting weekend.

“I’m already really looking forward to getting out on track for the first time in Baku on Friday," Alonso said. "In my role as Baku Ambassador, I’m lucky enough to have already seen the plans in detail for the new circuit and watch the venue come together over the past few months.

"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.

“This circuit is a great mix of both worlds, and as the fastest of any previous street track, I’m excited for the challenge and to see what’s possible in these kinds of conditions, where everything is a little bit unknown.

"I’ve already driven the track on the simulator and there’s certainly a lot that makes it unique – medieval walls close to the edge of the newly-laid asphalt, anti-clockwise corners, minimal run-off – so it seems to have all of the ingredients to give us a bit of drama and the prospect of exciting racing.”

Having started from tenth on the grid, Alonso failed to score in Canada and admits the Baku City Circuit could be similarly challenging for McLaren.

“The Canada race weekend started relatively well, but in the race we were outpaced by stronger teams. It was difficult to maintain heat in the tyres in cooler temperatures, which meant they didn’t perform as well, so we struggled to keep up with the guys in front.

"Some of Baku’s characteristics are similar, and despite being a street circuit will still be very demanding on power units and chassis. But, we’ll attack the weekend in our usual way, and keep pushing for more improvements in each session.”

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.