Three rounds have come and gone in the 2010 season and six drivers have claimed victory: while the first round was dominated by two rookies, the following rounds became the playing-ground for more experienced drivers with Pastor Maldonado finally scoring his first success of the season three
weeks ago in Istanbul and Dani Clos confirmed his top form winning in the sprint race the following day.
Both men are currently leading in the drivers’ standings, the Venezuelan four points ahead of the Spaniard.
Next up: Valencia, Spain.
Faster than Monaco, the Spanish street circuit is quite challenging for both
teams and drivers: on a track where overtaking is quite tricky and where heavy braking is required, in high temperatures, set-up will be crucial in order to manage tyre degradation as soft compounds make their first appearance this season.
Scuderia Coloni’s Alberto Valerio commented: “It is a very quick and technical track where you have to really lean on the brakes in order to get a good lap. In terms of speed it is like a normal track, but it’s a street circuit so you also have walls everywhere, which makes an extra challenge. Turn 12 is where you can overtake. I had some sort of qualifying problem last year, but in the race I had the third fastest lap behind Nico Hülkenberg and Vitaly Petrov. They both moved into Formula One now, so I fancy my
chances!”