DC’s Guide to The European Grand Prix in Valencia

David Coulthard takes us around a track which he got to know in its inaugural race last year. So, did Valencia live up to the hype?

“There was much excitement going to the new track and on the whole they had done a very good job of making an urban racetrack have a fairly regular feel, by that I mean you don’t have the Armco as close as you have on a Monaco-type street circuit.

“Turn 1 is an easy, flat turn which runs into the first real corner of the track which is Turn 2, a second-gear, tight right-hander, a short blast out of that up through 3 into what is quite a tricky chicane through 4 and 5. Tricky in that if you get off line a little bit you lose a lot of performance on the long run through 6 and 7 before the big stop into 8 which takes you over one of the unique features of the track.

“The off the bridge into an incredibly tight turn 10 which leads to the longest straight on the track, and one of the better overtaking opportunities, down into turn 12 through 13/14 that’s a fairly straight forward, third gear left-hander, right-hander and then down the next section is twisty but flat-out.

“You then arrive into one of the big stops of the track which is the Turn 17 hairpin. Out of that, one of the feelings you have as a driver is that the car’s just building speed, building speed all the way through 18-19. Turn 20 you’re flat so it’s quite an exciting section, you then run down through 24, the next significant corner, and as you come through that entry flat you’re then hard on the brakes trying to keep the car positioned for the last corner which is a hairpin bend on to the start-finish straight and the end of what is a technically interesting circuit, but certainly not the best on the calendar.

“Personally I thought the venue was over-rated. There was a lot of hype in the build-up to the Valencian Grand Prix and expectation was simply too high for it to deliver. The street circuit is Monaco; everything is always going to be a disappointment in comparison, so it’s a hard sell. I don’t think it’s a classic grand prix track because it’s going to be a compromise between what’s available within the streets and what they actually lay down as fresh tarmac.

“As far as car set-up is concerned, it’s not a Monaco track that particularly favours mechanically stable cars - and obviously to have a mechanically stable car you need an aerodynamically stable car - but Monaco is a particular track. This is less particular in terms of its demand on the car. I see the status quo remaining: whatever we see at the end of play in Budapest would will carry over to Valencia.”