Vettel in qualifying in Valencia

Visit the official site of the Valencia Street Circuit
www.formula1.com
Watch F1 videos on YouTube
Check out the BBC's circuit guide

Formula 1 Feed

Subscribe to All Content
02-Sep-2012

Button keeps calm to win chaotic Belgian Grand Prix 02-Sep-2012

Spa Button podium

A serene Jenson Button won the Belgian Grand Prix while Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber made significant gains in the championship chase...

30-Aug-2012

Vettel Makes A Music Video | Formula One 30-Aug-2012

Vettel rolling with the lady

Two-time F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel is already a film star of sorts after appearing in a kung fu film earlier this year. Now he's making pop videos

08-Jul-2012

Webber wins at Silverstone | British Grand Prix 08-Jul-2012

Webber champagne Siverstone 080712.jpg

Red Bull Racing emerged into the sunlight at Silverstone as Mark Webber won a finely judged race, overtaking Fernando Alonso in the last five laps, with Sebastian Vettel finishing third.

08-Jun-2012

F1 Preview: Canadian Grand Prix 08-Jun-2012

Mark Webber at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2011

Red Bull Racing looks for its third win of the season at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal. Here's all you need to know about the race and the track.

07-Jun-2012

Formula One: Mark Webber Takes Off 07-Jun-2012

Webber-Skydive-2

To paraphrase one of The Offspring's songs, Mark Webber is pretty fly for a white guy. As if to prove this, the Australian F1 driver has been taking skydiving lessons from Jon DeVore. Here's what...

more

Event Details

Location
Valencia, Spain (Map this address )
Start
24-JUN-2011 at 12:00 AM
End
26-JUN-2011 at 12:00 AM
About
The European Grand Prix has had a long and complex journey. It was originally created as an honorific title by the AIACR, the FIA's predecessor in the organisation of motor racing events. The first race to receive the title was the Italian Grand Prix, in 1923, it fell away during the war and was revived in 1947. In 1977 the British Grand Prix became the last race to receive the honorific title.

In 1983, the Formula One schedule originally featured a race near Flushing Meadows Park in New York. When the race was cancelled three months before the event, track organisers at Brands Hatch moved quickly to replace it with a European Grand Prix. The success of the event led to it returning on the schedule the following year. In 1990, a wealthy Japanese businessman built an extravagant race track called Nippon Autopolis with the idea of hosting a Formula One race. In 1992, plans were made to have an Asian Grand Prix added to the schedule. However, these plans failed to materialise and Bernie Ecclestone added a race at Donington Park, which brought back the European Grand Prix moniker. Several countries hosted the European Grand Prix until in 2008 when it took place in Valencia, the following year they signed a 5 year deal which puts them on the calendar until at least 2014. The Valencia Street Circuit is a semi-permanent street circuit which utilises roads around the city's port area, including a section over a 140 metre long swing bridge. The track is 5.419km (3.367m) long and incorporates a total of 25 turns – 11 right-handers and 14 left-handers. It's estimated that the track has a top speed of around 323kph (201mph), with a lap record of 1:38.683, held by Timo Glock and set during the 2009 European Grand Prix.