Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
“I know Valencia, because we've done several tests here last winter, but now we're racing in the city on a new track: I'm sure it will be a great atmosphere. I've seen the new track only from the position of an on-board camera and it seems to be very fast for a street circuit. I always love to drive on new tracks and I am always very quick to know them. I can't wait to race at Valencia.
“We have to start well at Valencia, where it's more important than in other places to drive with continuity from Friday on: I hope I'll have a trouble-free weekend to try to set up the car the best way possible, especially for the qualifying lap. The qualifying will be extremely important, although I think that there are some possibilities on the track to overtake. If it's hot that will help Ferrari. Like at Montreal you also need a bit of luck and I hope that it will not end for me as it did in Canada: anyway, there's no need to worry until we race. We just have to fight until the end and try to win.”
Aldo Costa, Ferrari technical director
"The track looks very interesting, combining a variety of different corner types, as well as some sections with a high top speed, maybe slightly lower than those seen at the Montreal circuit in Canada. We can expect high temperatures this weekend, which should not present us with any problems. After the high downforce configuration we ran at the last race in Budapest, we now return to a medium to low downforce configuration with some updates to the package that were already tested at Jerez in the week prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix."
Hirohide Hamashima, director of Bridgestone Motorsport tyre development
""The Valencia street course is new to Formula One so this will present many challenges for the teams. For Bridgestone, we have evaluated the track layout and surface and we will bring the softest tyres in our compound range, the soft and super soft. This is a street course with many corners, although we expect quite high speeds to be attained over the course of a lap. As with any street course we expect the grip levels from the circuit to improve over the course of the weekend. In Valencia in August we should see quite high temperatures so teams will have to be vigilant with their tyre management. As we have not raced here previously this should be a learning process for everyone involved, and strategy decisions over the race weekend will be interesting."
Nico Rosberg, Williams
"I’ve had a nice, but not particularly, relaxing couple of weeks in the Alps during the break. I’ve spent some time with family and friends but mostly I’ve been training. Valencia is a Grand Prix I’ve been looking forward to as it’s not only a new circuit, but a new street circuit. From what I’ve seen and read about it, I think it’ll be a great track to race on so I can’t wait for the weekend to start. The atmosphere will no doubt be fantastic as well because the Spanish have a real passion for Formula One. Valencia should be a track that suits our car, so I’m hoping we’ll have a good race and take something positive away from Spain."
Kazuki Nakajima, Williams
"I’m looking forward to a good race in Valencia. The new track looks great, and should be really interesting to race on. As at Monaco and Montreal, our car goes well at these kinds of tracks, so I’m hoping we’ll put in a good performance there. It shouldn’t take too long for the drivers to get used to the circuit, and for the first time the rest of the grid will be learning it with me! I’ve had a nice two week break, during which I returned home to Japan to catch up with family and friends, but now I’m looking forward to the last few rounds of the season."
Sam Michael, Williams technical director
"Valencia’s street circuit is a new addition to the calendar. It looks like a great track with some interesting sections for drivers and engineers alike. With 25 corners around the lap, it will be busy work for the drivers to maintain concentration and put together a perfect lap, particularly in qualifying. Because the circuit’s a new entity for the drivers, and because it will be green when they first go out of the garage, having a trouble-free run on Friday will be essential for a successful race weekend. The cars will run a lower than normal rear wing drag level in Valencia due to the five long straight sections, and the long, sweeping corners will all be taken at full throttle. Bridgestone will bring the soft and super-soft tyres, both suited to street circuits. Teams will, most likely, opt for a one or two stop strategy on the basis that overtaking on a twisty street circuit is always fairly restricted. We will, however, review strategy on Friday night after we have some more accurate data regarding tyre degradation and fuel consumption."
Nelson Piquet, Renault
“This season I have already learned several new circuits, but the difference this time is that all the drivers will be in the same position and having to learn the circuit. I think that from the point of view of the championship it's interesting to visit new tracks: it's an extra challenge for the drivers as well as the teams. I have worked hard with the team to approach this race in the best shape possible and I will try to get on the pace quickly and maximise every lap in practice. It's a street circuit so it will be quite tricky, but also very interesting. It's never easy to learn a new circuit, but, as I have said, this time all the teams and drivers will be in the same position. It will be interesting to see who can get comfortable fastest. I would like to have another solid weekend, starting off with a good day of practice on Friday, qualifying in the top 10 and showing good race pace to hopefully finish in the points. That's how I will approach this race. After the summer break, I am well rested and motivated to have a great end to the season.”
Fernando Alonso, Renault
“I'm very happy to be driving at home for a second time: it's always a special feeling to race in front of my countrymen and I'm really looking forward to it. In Barcelona we were having a strong race when I had to retire, but I hope this time I can get a good result as the circuit will be new for all the drivers. It will be interesting for me and also for the team, who have been working hard in preparation for this race for the last couple of months. As a new circuit, I think it gives the drivers a chance to show what they can do, but I am not under any illusions as I expect all the drivers to be quick. We must do our best to find our reference points quicker than the others in order to spring a surprise.”
Pat Symonds, Renault’s director of engineering
“We look forward to every race and I think we like the challenge of a new circuit. We enjoy the ambiance of visiting new places and the race team have had a short break so they will head there raring to go. It certainly looks like a fabulous venue. The teams are all well used to going to new circuits so I think the playing field is pretty level anyway. However, I would say that going to a new track is much more a test of a team's ability to adapt to new circumstances and manage change, which is one of the reasons why I enjoy the challenge of a new circuit.”
Timo Glock, Toyota
“I'm still smiling after Hungary. That was an incredible result and a fantastic feeling; I hope it will be the first of many podiums in Formula One. The important thing was that we showed just how competitive we are at the moment and moved further ahead in fourth place in the constructors' championship. There is a great atmosphere in the team and we are all working hard together to move forward, which is why it was so satisfying to get on the podium in Hungary. But Valencia is a new race and we must start again. I did plenty of street races when I was racing in Champ Cars and in that season almost all the tracks were new to me so I have learnt to adapt quickly. It looks like an interesting circuit and it's quite long so it should be a good show. We will have plenty of work to do on Friday to adjust the car to the track but we are in good form at the moment so I am optimistic for this weekend.”
Jarno Trulli, Toyota
"The track looks amazing and the location is fantastic so I am really looking forward to this Grand Prix. The team has worked hard to prepare for this race because it is a new track for all of us but from a driver's point of view the important thing is to drive it for the first time and then you can start to understand more about the circuit. I enjoy going to new venues because they are a new challenge and there is always something to discover; every race is unique and I like that. Even though this is a new track for us, I know Valencia pretty well from all the testing we have done at the other circuit there. It is a lively city and there always seems to be something going on so it should be a fun weekend. I am expecting a competitive weekend as well because at the moment we are looking quite strong. Scoring more points is our target and if we challenge for the podium again, that would be great."
Pascal Vasselon, Toyota’s senior general manager chassis
"We are well prepared for Valencia. Of course, we started our preparations for this new track by looking at the FIA information and that allowed us to put forward some speed profiles in order to estimate downforce and braking requirements, for example. We also sent staff to look at the inaugural race meeting there at the end of July and that gave us additional data with regards to speed profiles, driving lines and track surface. We expect the track to be in the mid range of downforce and quite severe on brakes. At the beginning we anticipate grip will be quite low but that should improve throughout the weekend. In terms of performance, we clearly want to build on the competitiveness shown in Hungary. We are genuinely challenging to be the third quickest car based on the last few races. Valencia will also show how well teams can react to new conditions so it will be an interesting weekend and we have every reason to be feeling very positive."
I can't wait!
I wrote the post as the session progressed.
