Nick Heidfeld admits he is 'intrigued' by the new Valencia circuit that will make its debut in
Formula One next month.
The new venue will host the European Grand Prix on the weekend of 22-24 August, with teams and drivers set to take on the challenge of a street circuit which will wind its way around the city's America's Cup harbour on each 5.473km lap.
Indeed, such is interest in the event that tickets for the race sold out less than a fortnight after going on sale earlier in the year with more than 110,000 people set to attend the event over the course of the weekend.
While
F1 teams are more than familiar with Valencia's Circuit Ricardo Tormo, which is often used for testing purposes and has been the scene of the on-track debut of every
BMW Sauber F1 car so far, they will head to the street circuit with no previous data to work with and Heidfeld said he felt the venue would be best compared to Monaco in terms of the challenges it will provide.
"I am always pleased when a new circuit makes it onto the calendar," says Nick. "I am particularly intrigued by Valencia. It is a proper street course in the inner city sense, unlike the circuits in Melbourne or Montreal.
"In terms of charm and challenge, I guess Valencia is closest to Monaco."
Valencia will host its first event this weekend with a round of the Spanish F3 and GT championships.
