Ecclestone: Valencia a 'miracle', now an F1 home

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has claimed that it is a 'miracle' that Valencia was able to host an F1 race and has said he is proud of a venue that he now views as a 'home' for the sport.

While the venue has been attacked in various quarters for providing a lack of action since joining the schedule back in 2008, Ecclestone claimed he was happy to have the Spanish city on the calendar and could barely believe how quickly event organisers had been able to host a race.

"I'm very proud and pleased with Valencia," he was quoted by news agency EFE during the race weekend in Spain. "This is now a home for us. Today a journalist told me 'this is another Monaco'."

Ecclestone also insisted that it was a 'miracle' that Valencia had been able to 'complete a 20 year project in two years'.

While Ecclestone may be a fan, Valencia remains one of the least popular venues with F1 fans and drivers, despite a more exciting race this season - although that was down in no small part to the accident involving Mark Webber and Heikki Kovalainen that resulted in a raft of strategy changes throughout the field.

Although some may also like to mention Valencia in the same breath as Monaco, the vast majority don't do so in glowing terms - with Valencia being viewed as nothing more than a poor cousin to arguably the biggest event on the F1 calendar.