Alonso gets TV preview of Valencia

[TheStig]

Fernando Alonso says his only insights into the nature of the brand new Valencia street circuit have come from a friend’s in-car movie of the track and watching a recent Formula 3 race on TV.

Valencia will be the Renault driver’s second home race of the season, but despite demonstrating a McLaren in the city at the start of last year, he is unfamiliar with the layout of the recently completed track.

“We don’t have any simulator with that kind of possibility [for learning a circuit],” Alonso told SPEEDtv.com.

“In my case it’s only the videos, some pictures [I can use]. I had a friend at that race [the recent F3 and GT meeting] who did one lap with a normal road car, with a video camera in the front, just to know the circuit.”
However, the double world champion went on to say that none of the drivers will really get a feel for the Spanish track, which hosts the European Grand Prix on August 24, until they drive it for the first time.

“For sure until you run with an F1 car there it’s not very useful, anything you do, because you will change completely your opinion and your feelings.

“We will need to maximise the Friday practice when we arrive there, because it will be the only way to improve.

“The circuit seems very, very well prepared. There’s obviously some work to do before F1 arrives, but it’s not like a normal street track.

“It’s something more, it seems wide, it seems like an American type of street circuit.

“I think it will be a nice and interesting grand prix. Not only the race, but also the atmosphere will be quite different.

“For sure I’m looking forward to the grand prix.”

Other drivers have also been talking about the challenges of learning the new circuit, including world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

“I like to discover new tracks: since I was a child driving in a kart I always learned quickly to drive on unknown tracks,” said the Ferrari driver.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, who leads Raikkonen by five points in the championship, said of the Valencia circuit: “I’ve had a look at some onboard footage of the track and will be working with the team over the break to prepare for the event.

“From the footage, the track looks amazing – I love street circuits, but this circuit looks extremely fast and unforgiving in some places.

“As a driver, it’s always fun to come to a new circuit – I really enjoy driving at new places and feel confident I can pick up new circuits quickly.



“It looks like being an amazing event.”

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TheStig