This is what Lewis, Kimi and co. will be fighting for in Valencia
Whoever wins the European GP at Valencia on Sunday will get to raise this distinctive trophy above his head. The trophy is in the shape of the city’s Reina Sofia Arts Centre, a modern building in the harbour-side area near to where the race will be held.
What do you think? We think it looks pretty stylish, although those sharp edges could take someone’s eye out.
The winning constructor, meanwhile, will receive a trophy in the shape of the Valencia region.
An intriguing insight into the shiny new venue for Sunday’s European Grand Prix, brought to you by Jarno Trulli and his Toyota pals.
Most important of all: the track is near a harbour. Because what F1 really needed was another venue where you could get pissed up on a yacht and still enjoy the action. Move over Monaco.
Grid Crasher didn’t realise the track was quite so close to the beach: we wouldn’t want to be catching a few rays, only for a stray Bridgestone to bounce across the sand in our general direction.
A virtual rFactor lap of F1’s latest street circuit
Jenson Button has been using a high-tech simulator in a bid to learn every inch of the new Valencia street circuit. The simulator, located at Honda’s Brackley HQ, has been set up with data from the F3 race held at the track last month - it’s about as close to the real thing as an F1 driver can get.
“With that [the simulator] you’re not getting the complete feelings of the car but you are understanding distances, the braking points. It’s very useful,” Button said.
Watch a virtual Honda lap of Valencia after the jump…
Right now, most F1 drivers are scattered around the world, doing non-F1 stuff. Not Lewis Hamilton, who has spent some of his three-week mid-season break getting to know the shiny new Valencia track (pictured above). The current championship leader said:
“I’ve had a look at some sections of the track and am going to spend this rest period to prepare the race with the rest of the team. Looking at the images, the track seems incredible. I like street circuits, but there seem to be some very quick, and very unforgiving, stretches.
As a driver, it’s always fun arriving at a new circuit. I like driving in new places and am confident in my ability to get to know them rapidly. It looks like an amazing circuit.”
It’s a good sign for Hamilton’s title hopes that he’s decided to keep his head down and prepare for the European GP with his McLaren team, when he could be relaxing on a beach with girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger.
Valencia’s new street circuit hosted Spanish F3 and GT Open series races at the weekend, in what amounted to a dry run for next month’s F1 European Grand Prix. Everything seemed to run smoothly, although there are still many rough edges that need to be smoothed before the F1 circus rolls into town.
Encouragingly, the guinea pig drivers seemed to like the track: “On Thursday night, I really though that it would not be finished, but now I am very impressed,” GP2 driver Adrian Valles told El Mundo, “The circuit is very pretty, it is fast and seems very unlike Monaco, as the corners in the Principality are slower. It is closer to a permanent circuit than a street circuit.”
This virtual lap gives you a good idea of how the brand-new street circuit in Valencia will drive. As you can see, the track itself is a lot wider and faster than Monaco, but still with some very tight corners and intimidatingly close walls - think Monaco crossed with Spa.
Grid Crasher can’t wait for the F1 circus to arrive there for real (race day is Sun 24 August), and see how all of the drivers cope with the challenge. It looks like the type of circuit that will suit aggressive, accurate drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica.
