The dreaded three-week break is nearly over and thoughts turn to the next GP on the calendar - Valencia. This is one we have looked forward to for a long time, not only because it is new but also because it promises to be one of the most exciting and challenging circuits introduced in a long time.
Valencia Street Circuit - the bridge
For a while, we had only the map of the proposed layout to go by and that was intriguing enough. Uncharacteristically for a street circuit, there are some long straights included, together with a good mix of fast and slow corners. Add to that the setting within an old Mediterranean city with water forming a boundary to part of the track, even a bridge over a section of the harbor, and it was clearly going to be a magnificent spectacle.
Now they have held a couple of sports car races on the track and virtual tours are multiplying on the net, so that we can begin to get an impression of what it will be like for the F1 cars and drivers. Again, it looks good, the racing having been successful and certain parts of the circuit providing distinctive features that will come to be instantly recognizable in the years ahead.
Most notable of these features is the swing bridge across the harbor, with its triangular supports. So striking is this that it has been used in the logo of the official circuit website. Most GP circuits have an identifying landmark that appears in photographs and Valencia has stolen a march on the Tilkedromes of Asia in that its signature is a part of the track, rather than the usual fancy hospitality suites.
Two other features spring to mind on looking at the latest pictures from Valencia. The proliferation of cranes clawing at the skyline remind us of how much of a rush job this was - the track is race ready but only just. And then there are the concrete walls. To take one of the tours, simulated or video, is to become conscious of how the walls separate the cars from the city. Down at the drivers' level, it is like hurtling through a severely restricted modern freeway through buildings that barely register on one's peripheral vision.
Really, this circuit could be anywhere from the drivers' point of view - in a city or out in the country. For us it will be spectacular, for them it will be a daunting challenge with little room for mistakes. There are run-off areas but also Monaco-like sections where the touch of a wall could trigger a big accident.
Overall, it does seem that Bernie has accidentally provided the sport with a circuit that could become a classic. We know that his idea was purely to cash in on the surge in popularity of F1 in Spain following Fernando Alonso's world championships, but the city of Valencia has excelled in its vision and delivery of this circuit. If there is anything similar in the history of F1 tracks, it has to be Long Beach, one of my favorites that always provided good racing. Yet Valencia promises to be even more, with its long straights and varied corners.
Who is going to win the inaugural GP? The favorite has to be Lewis Hamilton, with both McLaren and Hamilton apparently in the ascendency; but I still hope for some sort of miracle happening in the BMW camp to confound all the experts. One thing is sure, however: if the race lives up to our expectations, it will be a humdinger.