Honda: Destination Valencia

The European GP on the new city track of Valencia will be an exciting test for drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button.

The European GP, ​​scheduled for a distance of 57 laps, will take place on a 5,440 km city track designed by Hermann Tilke which winds along the roads adjacent to the Juan Carlos I Port, recently modernized for the 32nd America Cup in 2007 .

With the European Grand Prix, Spain returns to having two F1 Grand Prix on the calendar as in 1997. Despite being the first GP to be held in Valencia, the capital of the Valencian Community is a destination frequented by teams, who often carry out tests on the Ricardo Tormo circuit. This permanent facility 20 km from the urban area unfortunately lacks the necessary infrastructure to host a Grand Prix and this pushed the organizers to choose a coastal area of ​​the city to prepare the new road route.

The Valencia track has 25 curves and a minimum track width of 14 metres. By virtue of its characteristics and safety levels, it is on a par with other tracks on the F1 calendar and, importantly, it boasts sufficient run-off areas for expected speeds of over 300 km per hour.

Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button have never driven on this track, so what do they think of the upcoming event?

“It's a circuit we've never raced on and which is surrounded by walls!” Jenson exclaimed. “I think the entire Formula One circus is happy with the Valencia round. It's a beautiful city and it will be exciting to race on a road course.”

“Like most teams, we also have a simulator at the English base and using it for a long time proved fundamental in order to learn the Spanish track. The simulator doesn't allow you to have the same feeling as when you're in the car, but you learn the distances and braking points, so it's very useful.

“On the calendar there are very fast tracks such as Monza, Spa and Silverstone and other slow ones such as Monaco and the Hungarian track; from the impressions gathered, Valencia seems to be at an intermediate level. Furthermore, the additional danger of being delimited by walls requires great attention and concentration along the entire tour.”

“The difficulty of learning a new track always gives strong emotions, particularly when it comes to an unusual track like the city of Valencia,” added Rubens. “Despite the great preparation before the race, the reconnaissance on foot with the engineers on Thursday and the free practice on Friday will be very important in order to learn the track and evaluate its grip levels.

“A new track always allows the drivers to be decisive, as their feedback will become fundamental in achieving the best set-up. We have prepared well and I am looking forward to the weekend, hoping that the car has the potential to pick up some points.

“It appears that the race weekend will be very hot and this will increase the physical difficulties for the drivers, cars and teams. Then, I like the city of Valencia very much, it is an extraordinary place and I hope it can contribute to bringing many new fans closer to Formula One."

Jenson Button – Rubens Barrichello – Formula 1 European GP