2011 European Grand Prix

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May 24, 2012

An Awesome Weekend | Daniel Ricciardo Blog May 24, 2012

Daniel Ricciardo portrait Carlo

Daniel Ricciardo has a fabulous Monaco record in junior series – and he’s keen to extend that into Formula One.

May 23, 2012

Being street wise May 23, 2012

JEV au garage Carlo

It might be the jewel in F1’s crown but for Jean-Eric Vergne, Monaco is simply another chance to apply the lessons learned already this season.

May 23, 2012

F1 Blog: Naughty but pretty nice | Monaco F1 Grand Prix May 23, 2012

Eddie Jordan, Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner

It’s considerably bigger than most races and not very clever, but Monaco’s charms are hard to beat, says Justin Hynes...

May 22, 2012

F1: Five of the Best | Rewind to 1983... May 22, 2012

Pastor Maldonado

So, five races, five winners so far in 2012. That doesn't happen often. The only time before this year that all five winners came from different teams was 1983. Here's how it went down...

May 21, 2012

Circuit Guide: Monaco | Motor Sports May 21, 2012

Juan Pablo Montoya, Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher on the podium in 2004

We've everything you need to know about the most glamorous race on the F1 calendar as the 2012 World Championship heads to Monaco...

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Event Details

Location
Valencia, Spain (Map this address )
Start
JUN 22, 2012 at 12:00 AM
End
JUN 24, 2012 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.