Formula 1
European GP: Williams preview
Sam Michael, Technical Director From Montreal we're moving back to Europe and to the fourth street circuit of the year. Valencia has been a welcome addition to the calendar since it joined the schedule in 2008. The 5.4km lap is made up of 25 ...
Published: Jun 22, 2010, 6:17 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Sam Michael, Technical Director
From Montreal we're moving back to Europe and to the fourth street circuit of the year. Valencia has been a welcome addition to the calendar since it joined the schedule in 2008. The 5.4km lap is made up of 25 corners, which should conspire to make a tight and twisty track, but instead the drivers actually get into quite a good rhythm around Valencia. Speeds tend to average out around the lap at around 200kph.
As a street circuit the teams do face certain challenges over the weekend. The track provides little grip at the outset, the multitude of corners place some considerable stress on the tyres and the coastal location can whip up some sea breezes which can affect the balance of the car. As overtaking opportunities are also limited around Valencia, a good grid position is important. We've secured points at each of the two races in Valencia, and that is our aim again this time round. We will have further upgrades on the FW32, including the development blown rear wing.
Rubens Barrichello
I have great memories of Valencia. I won the race there last year, it was my tenth win so it was great fun. It was also significant because it really pulled me back into contention for the championship. Cosworth is doing well to improve its consistency and the team are bringing some more upgrades to Spain so I'm looking forward to seeing where their combined efforts put us. The challenge in Valencia is to get into Q3 and score some points.
Nico Hulkenberg
Valencia is a great track, I really like it. I know it well from racing there in GP2 last year and I'm very much looking forward to driving it in the FW32 because it's a circuit I feel quite comfortable on. Like Monaco and Montreal, there are walls everywhere but the track's a bit wider and I like the challenge.
We'll have more new parts for this race but we'll have to wait and see what improvements they bring to the car. We are inching a bit closer to the top ten, as we showed in qualifying in Montreal, but we have to continue pushing and gain more tenths to get into the top ten consistently.
-source: williams
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Chandhok plays down rumours of HRT seat danger
Next article European GP: Cosworth preview
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Rubens Barrichello
Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?
How ex-F1 racer Rubens Barrichello is still winning races at 52
Formula 1
Formula 1
Emilia Romagna GP
How ex-F1 racer Rubens Barrichello is still winning races at 52
Why illustrious racing dads aren't always an advantage for F1 hopefuls
FIA F3
FIA F3
Why illustrious racing dads aren't always an advantage for F1 hopefuls
More from
Williams
Franco Colapinto, George Russell to sit out FP1 at F1 Mexico GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Franco Colapinto, George Russell to sit out FP1 at F1 Mexico GP
Fernando Alonso blasts driving standards of bottom half of F1 grid
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Fernando Alonso blasts driving standards of bottom half of F1 grid
Latest news
How Aston Martin’s fuel gamble in Monza WEC fell short by just three seconds
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
14 min
How Aston Martin’s fuel gamble in Monza WEC fell short by just three seconds
Brad Keselowski expects "lots of soul searching" in off-season as he reflects on 2026
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
23 min
Brad Keselowski expects "lots of soul searching" in off-season as he reflects on 2026
What's behind Oscar Piastri's split with Mark Webber – and what it means for his F1 career
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
38 min
What's behind Oscar Piastri's split with Mark Webber – and what it means for his F1 career
Shane van Gisbergen gets new crew chief for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
46 min
Shane van Gisbergen gets new crew chief for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe