Toro Rosso - Track Record in Valencia

There’s not much history to Valencia, as it only made its debut on the F1 calendar last year.

Built on the back of Alonso fever, after the Spaniard won two world titles, it promised a lot in terms of the venue but delivered little in terms of racing excitement. As a street circuit, it was billed as Spain’s answer to Monaco, but in terms of glamour, mayhem and excitement it currently falls far short of its target, but then you can’t create a history spanning decades in a matter of months.

The paddock certainly caused a stir. The garages offer adequate space and the trucks, instead of being out in the open as at most races, are under cover in what used to be a fish market, so the whole area has the feel of a giant exhibition centre.

The motorhome area is separated from the garages by a block of buildings and this is the crowning glory of the new venue as it affords fabulous views of the harbour used for the Americas Cup sailing races, a sport even more riven with politics than F1.

Last year, the whole port area, although home to some fantastic and futuristic architecture, including museums and Europe’s biggest aquarium, was pretty much a building site and a fine layer of dust covered everyone and everything.

As for the track, it is 5.419 kilometres in length long and incorporates a total of 25 turns - 11 right-handers and 14 left-handers. Cars hit a top speed of around 320 km/h and the lap record is held by last year’s race winner, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa in a time of 1:38.708.

Our Track Record in Valencia:

2008
Sebastian Vettel 6th
Sébastien Bourdais 10th