Sebastian Vettel believes Valencia is going to be a challenging race – Formula 1 news
Sebastian Vettel believes that overtaking at the Valencia circuit is difficult ordeal.
He understands that quite like the Monaco street circuit, Valencia will pose a similar even a more difficult threat when it comes to overtaking during the race.
Sebastian Vettel who is in the battle for the top spot in the current season finished fourth at the Canadian GP and is looking for better results to claim the top spot. The Red Bull driver is placed third in the list behind current leader McLaren’s Lewis
Hamilton and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
The competitiveness in the season is such that even at third he is a race or a better position away from claiming the top spot. Vettel is only three points behind Hamilton and one behind Alonso. He understands that all he has to do is to perform better than
the other two drivers. That means he will have to do very well during the qualifiers as overtaking will be a difficult proposition and the key will be to start the race ahead and remain ahead.
Vettel feels at home when he is in the lead and he seldom gives it away, he was very dominant in the 2011 season with eleven Grands Prix wins. The Canadian GP was one of the very few races where the German started the race ahead and had to give his lead
away.
“In Valencia, we drive an average of more than 200kph, which means it's one of the fastest street circuits in Formula One,” said Vettel. “Overtaking is possible, but only with some risk. The reason is that the air turbulence created by cars driving closely
behind each other doesn't disappear as it normally would due to the high walls around the track; you lose grip and, in some extreme cases, you have to lift the throttle. The start-finish straight in Valencia is special because it's not very long, it turns
into a fast right corner which we take at 290kph.”
It will be interesting to see how the defending champion will deal with the Valencia challenge, but it is clear that to do well in the race he will have to perform well in the qualifiers and have a solid tyre strategy.
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