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VALENCIA, Spain – Could the European Grand Prix in Valencia, the fourth since Bernie Ecclestone persuaded the Mediterranean city to emulate Monaco by running an F1 race through its harbour, see a major reshuffle of the order?
It is no secret Red Bull Racing’s major advantage lay in qualifying, with drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber regularly locking out the front row despite not running their full lap quota in Q3 – crucially saving tyres in the process. Vettel thus claimed six poles in the seven races to date (team mate Mark Webber took the other), thereafter leading from the front each time to take the flag five times.
A large part of Red Bull's domination came through ingenious engine mapping, which enabled the RB7’s exhaust-blown rear diffuser to create downforce even when on a trailing throttle. During races that would consume valuable fuel but on hot laps the petrol thus burnt is minimal, with the team resetting engine maps to more frugal modes for the race. Hence some nail-biting finishes...
The FIA has outlawed the practice from this weekend – with further clampdowns coming at Silverstone in a fortnight – meaning the order will close up considerably, if not change completely. The ban will affect some more than others, but it is clear all the front-runners will be hit, for each has a form of blown diffuser.
'BOREFEST' GONE?
This bodes extremely well for this weekend, for the first three events on what is termed an "urban" circuit were hardly scintillating, justifiably being dubbed "borefests".
The race’s concept was modelled on Monaco’s GP but has it turned out to be a poor relation. Despite a Mediterranean setting with boats bobbing about in the harbour, glorious weather, waterfront track sectors and even a drawbridge, the race has singularly failed to capture the imagination of fans – live or TV – mostly due to the nature of the 5.419km track.
Smooth in parts, bumpy in others, its layout and narrowness (average 12m) make overtaking virtually impossible, and the difference between the fastest speed achieved (320km/h) and minimum (90km/h) means set-up is at best compromised.
For 95% of the year these roads are plied by fishmongers and harbour traffic. That the track is an anomaly is borne out by these facts:
* Valencia last year 'rubbered in' more than any other circuit bar Korea’s brand-new one, with the difference between Friday’s fastest time and pole 3.588sec, demonstrating the evolution of grip.
* With 25 officially numbered corners (11 left, 14 right), Valencia has the most turns of any current F1 circuit, yet still delivers an average lap speed of 210km/h.
* 69% percent of the Valencia circuit is at full throttle, equal to Melbourne, Istanbul and Silverstone – ultra-fast circuits all.
That said, this year’s introduction of DRS and return of KERS made a tremendous difference to F1’s spectacle, with Pirelli’s degrading tyres doing their bit to deliver record-breaking levels of overtaking across the board. The company’s offering in Valencia consists of medium (white sidewalls) and soft (yellow) compounds, with the race marking the first time the former has been used, while the latter replaces the supersoft originally nominated.
THREE STOPS EXPECTED
Pirelli tester Pedro de la Rosa believes three stops will result, with Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery telling Wheels24: “Tyre wear on this circuit is likely to be high because of the track layout, the the surface and the weather, which should be warm. (Clear sky, 28 degrees forecast for the weekend.)
“For these reasons we selected the medium and soft tyres, which should provide teams with good resistance, plenty of opportunities for strategy and about a second a lap difference between compounds.”
The result should be non-stop track action, aided in no small part by the expected reshuffling, plus the season is running away from all bar Vettel (161 points) who is virtually three wins ahead of Jenson Button (101), the leading McLaren driver. The Briton’s team mate and compatriot Lewis Hamilton is fourth with 85 points, nine behind Australian Webber in third. All are desperate to catch up before the 19-leg season reaches midway.
Fernando Alonso (69, fifth) is the highest-placed Ferrari driver, but write off the Spaniard at your peril: not only was victory in the last two races in Monaco and Montreal (street circuits, remember) well within his grasp before circumstances conspired against him but Ferrari gained the least of all top teams with its blown diffuser, so stands to lose the least.
Could Alonso be the season’s fourth winner in eight races, winning on home turf as well?
Share your thoughts on the European Grand Prix here!
Stay with Wheels24 for the F1 weekend.
It is no secret Red Bull Racing’s major advantage lay in qualifying, with drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber regularly locking out the front row despite not running their full lap quota in Q3 – crucially saving tyres in the process. Vettel thus claimed six poles in the seven races to date (team mate Mark Webber took the other), thereafter leading from the front each time to take the flag five times.
A large part of Red Bull's domination came through ingenious engine mapping, which enabled the RB7’s exhaust-blown rear diffuser to create downforce even when on a trailing throttle. During races that would consume valuable fuel but on hot laps the petrol thus burnt is minimal, with the team resetting engine maps to more frugal modes for the race. Hence some nail-biting finishes...
The FIA has outlawed the practice from this weekend – with further clampdowns coming at Silverstone in a fortnight – meaning the order will close up considerably, if not change completely. The ban will affect some more than others, but it is clear all the front-runners will be hit, for each has a form of blown diffuser.
'BOREFEST' GONE?
This bodes extremely well for this weekend, for the first three events on what is termed an "urban" circuit were hardly scintillating, justifiably being dubbed "borefests".
The race’s concept was modelled on Monaco’s GP but has it turned out to be a poor relation. Despite a Mediterranean setting with boats bobbing about in the harbour, glorious weather, waterfront track sectors and even a drawbridge, the race has singularly failed to capture the imagination of fans – live or TV – mostly due to the nature of the 5.419km track.
Smooth in parts, bumpy in others, its layout and narrowness (average 12m) make overtaking virtually impossible, and the difference between the fastest speed achieved (320km/h) and minimum (90km/h) means set-up is at best compromised.
For 95% of the year these roads are plied by fishmongers and harbour traffic. That the track is an anomaly is borne out by these facts:
* Valencia last year 'rubbered in' more than any other circuit bar Korea’s brand-new one, with the difference between Friday’s fastest time and pole 3.588sec, demonstrating the evolution of grip.
* With 25 officially numbered corners (11 left, 14 right), Valencia has the most turns of any current F1 circuit, yet still delivers an average lap speed of 210km/h.
* 69% percent of the Valencia circuit is at full throttle, equal to Melbourne, Istanbul and Silverstone – ultra-fast circuits all.
That said, this year’s introduction of DRS and return of KERS made a tremendous difference to F1’s spectacle, with Pirelli’s degrading tyres doing their bit to deliver record-breaking levels of overtaking across the board. The company’s offering in Valencia consists of medium (white sidewalls) and soft (yellow) compounds, with the race marking the first time the former has been used, while the latter replaces the supersoft originally nominated.
THREE STOPS EXPECTED
Pirelli tester Pedro de la Rosa believes three stops will result, with Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery telling Wheels24: “Tyre wear on this circuit is likely to be high because of the track layout, the the surface and the weather, which should be warm. (Clear sky, 28 degrees forecast for the weekend.)
“For these reasons we selected the medium and soft tyres, which should provide teams with good resistance, plenty of opportunities for strategy and about a second a lap difference between compounds.”
The result should be non-stop track action, aided in no small part by the expected reshuffling, plus the season is running away from all bar Vettel (161 points) who is virtually three wins ahead of Jenson Button (101), the leading McLaren driver. The Briton’s team mate and compatriot Lewis Hamilton is fourth with 85 points, nine behind Australian Webber in third. All are desperate to catch up before the 19-leg season reaches midway.
Fernando Alonso (69, fifth) is the highest-placed Ferrari driver, but write off the Spaniard at your peril: not only was victory in the last two races in Monaco and Montreal (street circuits, remember) well within his grasp before circumstances conspired against him but Ferrari gained the least of all top teams with its blown diffuser, so stands to lose the least.
Could Alonso be the season’s fourth winner in eight races, winning on home turf as well?
Share your thoughts on the European Grand Prix here!
Stay with Wheels24 for the F1 weekend.