The 2008 European GP Preview

Having a new circuit on the Formula One calendar isn't usually something to shout about these days. The introduction of Sepang, Sakhir, Shanghai, Istanbul, and Fuji all in the last decade have reduced the impact and novelty of each new venue. But both of this season's additions ought to be events to remember.

The first of which, this weekend's European Grand Prix, has created a fanfare greater than each of the above tracks, largely thanks to the street circuit layout around the port of Valencia.

Formula One's first new street course in 12 years is expected to put on quite a show, especially if suggestions of a high-speed track with genuine overtaking opportunities prove to be accurate.

The championship tussle couldn't be more finely balanced, the anticipation growing with every race over who will come through in the end and who's challenge will fade into nothing. A victory for any one of the three major contenders, and the failure of another, will swing the momentum dramatically going into the final third of the season.

Five Talking Points

Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen, and Felipe Massa © XPB

1. The Championship

After appearing in the papers for all the wrong reasons recently, the attention on Formula One can now focus on the battle for the big prize. Felipe Massa's late retirement in Hungary means he and Kimi Raikkonen trail Lewis Hamilton by eight and five points respectively, and with seven races to go, you'd be best advised not to put down any money just yet.

2. Massa's mentality

With three laps of the Hungarian GP left, Felipe Massa was looking at a three-point championship lead. A technically-induced retirement later and he's eight behind. How he responds to the setback that leaves him behind Kimi Raikkonen for the first time since Monaco will probably point towards whether he has what it takes to become a champion.

3. Fernando Alonso

After Nelson Piquet Jr's recent upturn in form, the two-time world champion could do with a big performance in front of his home crowd. The long-term success of F1 among Spanish fans could depend upon where he races in the next two years, so it's important that he keeps his stock up.

4. Toyota

Points from five of the last six races mean Toyota are on their best run of form for two years. If they get a handle on the intricacies of the Valencia course (don't forget, Valencia is the city where Timo Glock clinched last year's GP2 title - albeit on the Ricardo Tormo circuit) another podium could be a possibility.

5. The track

Valencia is the first new street circuit on the F1 calendar since Melbourne's Albert Park track debuted in 1996. The success of the race - and that of the Singapore GP later in the year - could have a bearing on whether F1 will gravitate towards city races in future.

Success Factors

1. Learn the track quickly

Valencia has 24 corners, the most of any circuit in modern F1, and so getting to grips with braking and turn-in points will be a must on what is every driver's first race at the harbour-side track. Some will already have had time in their teams' simulators and the likes of Honda can call on the likes of junior driver Mike Conway - who raced there in GTs recently - to give advice to their racers.

2. Don't panic

The fact that the track is new to everyone virtually guarantees that some teams will hit the jackpot in first practice and some will lag behind. Working rationally to adjust the set-up will gain time far better than a banzai effort from an over-enthusiastic driver.

3. Understand the circuit

As a street circuit, Valencia has more in common with Montreal than Monaco thanks to its high-speed nature, lack of elevation, and the size of the kerbs. McLaren's superior traction through the low-speed turns could be more crucial than Ferrari's superior aerodynamics.

Strategy

As with all street races, the walls in Valencia are close, very close. That means we're likely to have a safety car period during the race. How the teams and drivers deal with this could determine the outcome of the race and a Hockenheim-style finale is far from out of the question.

Expect to see the big four run a two-stop strategy, but with residual fuel on board in the opening stint to help them if someone crashes at the start of their first pit window.

Watch out for national hero Fernando Alonso, though. Renault have run him light to achieve a good grid spot before and might try the trick again.

The Valencia city circuit © XPB

The Challenge of a New Circuit

Williams technical director, Sam Michael

"The car set-up is selected based on the downforce level and the average corner speed. This is arrived at through mapping the circuit and then using that data to run it through a lap simulation programme.

"We're only given limited data, such as a plan view circuit map. Sometimes we're given cad data so we can then create a more accurate map back at the factory. Additionally, Bridgestone are normally given access in advance in order to measure the track's abrasiveness so they can pre-select the correct tyre compound."

Force India technical director, Mike Gascoyne

"The track actually looks pretty quick. The top speeds are fairly high and there are four parts of the circuit where you get to a high speed. Downforce will be in the medium to low range, which is a big contrast to Singapore, which is going to be a very slow circuit."

BMW Sauber's, Robert Kubica

"I've seen some pictures of the track, but no video. It's looking interesting and I'm looking forward to it. It's a street circuit and my best results this season have been on street circuits like Monaco and Montreal, so I'm hoping we will be more competitive. It's a good challenge, a new track for everybody, so it will be good fun."

History

The European Grand Prix has quite an enviable record as far as staging great races goes. First held at Brands Hatch in 1983 (a win for Nelson Piquet's Brabham), it has produced events as memorable as Ayrton Senna's masterful win at Donington Park in 1993 and the Villeneuve-Schumacher title fight at Jerez in 1997.

While the latter two may be the best-remembered, the most fascinating was surely the 1999 race at the Nurburgring, in which Johnny Herbert delivered the only GP win for Jackie Stewart's team.

Starting 14th, Herbert made a smart call to change to wet tyres just as the heavens were opening at one-third distance and, after Heinz-Harald Frentzen, David Coulthard and Giancarlo Fisichella all retired from the lead, and a puncture scuppered Ralf Schumacher's chances of a maiden win, Johnny came through for his first victory in over four years.