Valencia Street Circuit is a semi
permanent street circuit in Valencia, Spain. The circuit utilizes the roads skirting around the city's
harbour and America Cup's port area including a section over a
140-metre-long swing bridge, and also includes some roads designed
exclusively for racing purposes by the German architect Hermaan Tilke who
also designed the infrastructural buildings for the circuit. The 2011 edition
was held on Sunday June 26.
The 2011
European Grand Prix was the eighth race of the 2011 Formula one season and
was held on 26 June 2011. It was won by defending champion and championship
leader Sebastin Vettel who started from pole position and delivered a
fastest lap on lap 53, giving him a hat-trick.Fernando Alonso and Mark
Webber finished second and third after a race-long battle. The race was
notable for having the fewest retirements, 0, and the most finishers, 24, ever
in a Grand Prix. Vettel became the first multiple winner of the Europian
Grand Prix in Spain and Red Bull became the first ever multiple
constructor winner.
Here are some
quotes from some of the drivers and the team principal.
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
2011 Qualifying – 1st, 2011 Race – 1st
“In Valencia, we drive an average of more than 200kph, which means it’s one of
the fastest street circuits in Formula One. Overtaking is possible, but only
with some risk. The reason is that the air turbulence created by cars driving
closely behind each other doesn’t disappear as it normally would due to the
high walls around the track; you lose grip and, in some extreme cases, you have
to lift the throttle. The start-finish straight in Valencia is special because
it‘s not very long, it turns into a fast right corner which we take at 290kph.”
Mark Webber, Red Bull
2011 Qualifying – 2nd, 2011 Race – 3rd
“Obviously it’s very difficult to predict how we might go in Valencia, as we’ve
clearly seen with seven winners and plenty of different podiums. Our main goal
is to improve our positions in both championships, so personally for me in the
Drivers’ Championship and of course the team is looking to keep a good margin
in the Constructors’. I know everyone in Milton Keynes has been working
incredibly hard in between the two races.”
Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber
2011 Qualifying – 14th, 2011 Race – 16th
“In Valencia it is usually very hot. I personally like that, but it is
difficult to say what it means for the car and the tyres. It will be tough,
that much is certain. Tyre management will be the key, together with a good
race strategy. The street circuit also requires a decent amount of downforce
for the car. You are always quite close to the walls, but after our last two
races in Monaco and Montreal this is nothing new. Overtaking is not easy but
not impossible either. In 2010 it was actually good fun. Valencia as a city is
a nice destination by many measure, I would happily choose it for my holidays.
By the way, you can also get the best fresh squeezed orange juice there.
However, my target is a strong qualifying as well as a strong race.”
Sergio Perez, Sauber
2011 Qualifying – 16th, 2011 Race – 11th
“I enjoyed the Montreal result very much and I want more of that. I like the
track in Valencia a lot and also the atmosphere during the race weekend, as we
are quite close to the fans. I don’t have the best memories of my Formula One
debut race in Valencia, as it was last year and a very difficult one for me. I
was returning to racing after my heavy shunt in Monaco and, in hindsight, I
have to admit I don’t think I was fit enough. I didn’t feel well at all. The
Valencia street circuit has quite long straights with hard braking into the
corners, and what we have learnt from Montreal will be important for that.”
Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Sauber head of
track engineering
“Valencia is a street circuit, but not a typical one, because the surface is
very smooth, and the kerbs are not very high. In addition, the aerodynamic
efficiency is significantly more important than, for example, in Monaco or
Singapore, and there are proper run-off areas. Most of the corners are slow,
but you cannot ignore the level of top speed. As a result of this layout,
braking stability and traction are very important. In Valencia we have to
expect high temperatures at this time of the year, so the tarmac can get very
hot. Pirelli is supplying us with the medium and the soft compound tyres, which
have changed a bit since last year and may need us to look at a slightly
different strategy for them. Rear degradation could be an issue. Overtaking is
not easy on this track, therefore qualifying is of particular importance. The
car is basically unchanged since Montreal, however, we might run a higher level
of downforce.”
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
2011 Qualifying – 8th, 2011 Race – 17th
“Our entire focus is now on the race in Valencia, and I am sure that
everybody’s motivation is even stronger because the weekend in Canada didn’t go
as well as we had hoped. Our motto in the last few days has been to roll our
sleeves up and focus on the job in hand; everybody in the team has taken that
approach to heart, so we can travel to Valencia in an optimistic mood. The
harbour area is particularly nice and, given its location, the circuit is also
really interesting, so let’s see how we can perform there. You can still feel
some of the atmosphere from the America’s Cup in Valencia, which makes this
race a special event that we always enjoy taking part in.”
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2011 Qualifying – 7th, 2011 Race – 7th
“Valencia is a pretty cool city and it’s always nice to visit there. The track
is another street circuit but it’s quite a unique one as it is quicker and has
a more open feel than somewhere like Monaco or Singapore. The layout is also
kind of like Montreal so it should be a circuit which suits our car. I was at
the factory this week and I know how hard everyone is working to improve the
car, so we will hope for a strong weekend in Valencia to repay all of their
efforts.”
Ross Brawn, Mercedes team principal
“The calendar returns to Europe next weekend with our visit to the Valencia
Street Circuit in Spain. The performance of our car and our tyre management
were generally good in Canada, however our competitiveness was compromised by
reliability problems and mistakes.
This is a disappointment that is deeply felt by everyone in our team, and we
have been working hard to ensure we understand the reasons and deal with them.
Achieving zero-defect reliability is our highest priority. The opportunities
available if we can give both drivers a reliable car and a clean weekend are
clear.”
Norbert Haug, Vice-President,
Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“The European Grand Prix will be the third consecutive race on a temporary
circuit after Monaco and Canada. Seven corners are taken below 100 km/h but
straight line speeds are similar to Canada, and the cars brake from over 285
km/h to under 100 km/h on five different occasions around the lap. The weather
is usually hot and sunny, which is naturally reflected in high track
temperatures. Nico’s race and his lap times in Canada, where track temperatures
exceeded 40 degrees, showed that our car can cope well with such extreme
conditions when running the appropriate set-up. Our priority for the next race
is to achieve the same standard of reliability for Michael’s car that we have
seen so far this year with Nico’s, who has completed all racing laps so far this
season. Since his win at the Chinese Grand Prix on 15 April, no other driver
has scored more points than Nico. The target is to continue that trend.”
Pedro de la Rosa, HRT
2011 Qualifying – n/a, 2011 Race – n/a
“Just like in Barcelona, I’m really looking forward to racing in front of our
home fans in Valencia. At the Valencia Street Circuit we will encounter high
air and track temperatures so the brakes will be put through their paces once
again, but we’re confident we can make the necessary modifications to overcome
the problems we experienced in Canada. Valencia has long straights but
overtaking isn’t easy and it is a high-downforce track. I think we can do quite
well here, although it’s not as favourable to our car as Canada, because there
are a lot of braking areas and slow corners which are good for us. We’re
looking forward to putting in a good performance in front of our fans and we
want to continue with our progress from the last few races, where we’ve been at
a good standard, but here we want to confirm this improvement in the race.”
Narain Karthikeyan, HRT
2011 Qualifying – 24th, 2011 Race – 24th
“Valencia will be our third street circuit in a row, and our team’s second home
race. It is our second visit to Spain in just about five weeks but the circuit
is as different as it could be compared to Barcelona. It shares some
characteristics with Montreal and Monte Carlo, like emphasis on low-speed
traction so I expect our car to do well here. Apart from that, it is a
beautiful place and weather is pretty hot, just like India, but the track
itself isn’t a huge challenge. Yes the walls are close but the adrenaline
factor isn’t close to Monaco or even Montreal. But on the back of the promise
we showed in Canada, I’m looking forward to the race and hopefully we’ll have a
chance to build on it this time.”
Luis Perez-Sala, HRT team principal
“We’re looking forward to racing in Valencia, as it will be the second
time we do so at home this season. In Canada we were quick and performed well
but were unable to finish the race. In Valencia we want to confirm this
progress and achieve a good result, plus doing so in front of the Spanish
public is even more special. I think that the characteristics of this circuit
adapt well to our car and I hope we have good reliability and finish the race
with a positive result.”
