Preview of the European Grand Prix

THIS HAPPENED AT THE EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX

Until 1977, some Grand Prix races received the honorary title of Grand Prix of Europe, as was the case for the inaugural championship race, held at Silverstone and officially designated as the 1950 British and European Grand Prix. While Britain was once again the Grand Prix of Europe in 1957, 1964, 1972, and 1977, other countries received the honors of the Grand Prix of Europe, such as Italy and Germany, on four occasions, France, three times, and even Monte-Carlo, which was the Grand Prix of Monaco and Europe in 1955 and 1963.

It was in 1983 that the first official European Grand Prix was organized, aiming to allow a country to host a second round of the World Championship: a different era. However, this Grand Prix almost never happened since the initial calendar planned for a Grand Prix near Flushing Meadows in New York. Three months before the event, the race was canceled, leaving a gap in the schedule. As F1 cannot stand a void—something recently demonstrated with the Bahrain Grand Prix—a European Grand Prix was hurriedly organized at the Brands Hatch circuit, whose asphalt had already been regularly tread by F1 cars, notably a few months earlier during a non-championship race won by Keke Rosberg.

Penultimate race of the season, the 1983 European Grand Prix, where Elio de Angelis started from pole position for the first time in his career, was won by Nelson Piquet for Brabham, ahead of Alain Prost’s Renault. The Brazilian took advantage of this victory, the second in a row, to close the gap to just two points behind the Frenchman, who was leading the world championship, before the decisive South African Grand Prix. Meanwhile, René Arnoux, the third contender for the championship, came away empty-handed from the European Grand Prix, reducing his title chances as he fell 8 points behind Prost and 6 behind Piquet.

In 1984, the European Grand Prix served as a pretext to celebrate the Nürburgring’s return to the calendar, while Hockenheim had become the host of the German Grand Prix. Suspended by his team during the previous race, Ayrton Senna made his comeback at this Grand Prix held on a circuit he knew well, having won the inaugural race a few months earlier in an event orchestrated with Mercedes’ support, as well as participating in the 1000km Nürburgring endurance race. However, the Brazilian wouldn’t go far in this Grand Prix, as he was involved in a spectacular pile-up at the start, putting himself out of the race along with Rosberg, Berger, Surer, and Ghinzani. Always scheduled towards the end of the season, the Grand Prix saw Prost’s victory ahead of Alboreto, Nelson Piquet, and Niki Lauda, with the Austrian maintaining his championship lead over his young teammate by 4.5 points before the final round in Portugal. Notably, Alboreto and Piquet’s finish was in slow motion, as both drivers ran out of fuel, bringing their cars to a halt just a few meters after crossing the finish line. Interestingly, the Brazilian and the Italian shared more than just a hug, as both drivers shared the fastest lap time in the race, something that hasn’t happened since.

In 1985, as Brands Hatch hosts the European Grand Prix again after hosting the British Grand Prix the previous season, Alain Prost, with a 16-point lead over Michele Alboreto, could potentially clinch the title three races before the end of the championship if his rival underperforms. The qualifying scenario seems to favor this outcome as Prost secures the 6th position on the grid, far ahead of Alboreto in 15th. Due to Keke Rosberg’s poor start from 2nd place, Prost, forced onto the grass, falls back to 14th, while Alboreto, with an exemplary start, climbs to 9th by the end of the first lap. Ahead, attacking Senna, who started in pole position, Keke Rosberg spins out. Nelson Piquet can’t avoid colliding with the Williams driver. While the Finn escapes with just a flat tire, the Brazilian’s race is over.

After stopping to change tires, Rosberg finds himself ahead of Ayrton Senna, nearly a lap ahead, allowing his Williams teammate, Nigel Mansell, to catch up with the Brazilian. The Briton soon takes the lead and sails towards his first victory. For Prost, it’s the world championship crown awaiting him at the checkered flag, the title secured after Michele Alboreto’s retirement on the 15th lap and thanks to the 4th place achieved by the McLaren driver.

The European Grand Prix would only reappear on the calendar in 1993 for a legendary race won in the rain by an Ayrton Senna in a state of grace, relegating his runner-up, Damon Hill, to nearly a lap behind. The Brazilian, who delivered a breathtaking start on a wet track, handled the conditions better than his rivals, stopping only four times where Prost, for instance, made seven pit stops: a record to beat.

The following year, held at the Jerez circuit at the end of the season, the European Grand Prix marked the return of Michael Schumacher to racing after serving his two-race suspension for ignoring a black flag at Silverstone. Although starting from pole position, the German partly owed his victory to a mistake by the Williams team, which did not put enough fuel in Damon Hill’s car, forcing him to pit again. This allowed the German, who Hill had overtaken at the start, to cruise to a valuable victory.

The following year, the Kaiser would once again win the European Grand Prix, but this time, on his home turf, at the Nürburgring. In a breathtaking duel with his friend Jean Alesi on a wet track, and with an epic maneuver at the last chicane, the German driver received an ovation from his fans, joined momentarily by Damon Hill, who had enjoyed the duel from the side of the track where his Williams had ended up after a violent off-road excursion. The Brit had nevertheless had a confrontation with the German, a few moments earlier, as Schumacher honored his rival with one of the defenses that contribute to his fame today.

In 1996, Jacques Villeneuve won his first career victory in the Eifel Mountains, during only his fourth start, after leading the race from start to finish and especially after withstanding the pressure exerted by Michael Schumacher in the last 15 laps, a performance that the brand-new Ferrari driver did not expect to achieve considering the blow dealt by the Williams drivers in qualifying the day before had been significant. The German finished less than a second behind Villeneuve and was ahead of David Coulthard, who offered Mercedes its first podium on German soil since 1954.

Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher were set to meet the following year, this time in Jerez, for the final and decisive round of the world championship. The episode remained legendary and forever tarnished Michael Schumacher’s reputation, as he was subsequently excluded from the championship. Indeed, on the 47th lap, the Canadian, with fresher tires than the German, launched a fatal attack on the Red Baron to take the lead. The German, leading the Canadian by only a single point in the championship, saw his title hopes vanish and, in a desperate maneuver, collided with Villeneuve’s Williams. This collision, of which the German was ultimately the sole victim, overshadowed, as often happens in decisive Grand Prix races, Mika Hakkinen’s first Formula One victory.

In 1999, after a year of absence, the European Grand Prix returned to the calendar and settled, for a long time, at the Nürburgring. Marked by rain, as often, the tumultuous race saw Johnny Herbert’s victory ahead of Jarno Trulli, who secured his first career podium in the Prost, but the team’s last. The Italian was ahead of Rubens Barrichello, completing the triumph of the Stewart team, which registered its first victory there.

Subsequently, Michael Schumacher left a stronger mark on the European Grand Prix, as he did on Formula One in general, in the early 2000s, by winning in 2000, 2001, 2004, and 2006. Rubens Barrichello recorded his second career victory in 2002, the second time on his illustrious teammate’s home turf, while another Schumacher won in 2003 after Kimi Räikkönen secured his first pole position. The Finn would dominate the 2005 European Grand Prix before falling victim to a spectacular crash at the start of the final lap, as he struggled with recurring tire problems that allowed Fernando Alonso to catch up. The Spaniard only had to reach out to clinch victory and repeated the feat in 2007 after a chaotic race in which Spyker achieved its sole claim to fame when Markus Winkelhock, the only driver to start on wet tires on the grid, led the Grand Prix for 6 laps before handing over the lead to Felipe Massa, who would lose it in a fierce battle in the final laps of the Grand Prix to Alonso.

Since then, the European Grand Prix has moved to the shores of the Mediterranean but struggles to find its audience, both on-site and in front of the television.

THEY WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED

The DRS: Overtaking in Valencia is far from being an easy task, and the circuit even has the worst average, all circuits combined. Since 1982, it is, along with Monaco, the only circuit to have witnessed no overtaking, which was the case in 2009, despite the KERS that offered an advantage to certain teams. Although the 2010 edition showed a slight improvement, much hope is still placed on the tires and the DRS to ensure the show is up to expectations, especially as, like in Canada, drivers will have a double activation zone to work with. Click here to learn more.

Fernando Alonso: The main selling point of this Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso, is not a prophet in his own country, as he confirmed on Thursday during the FIA press conference: « I remember doing a demonstration in the city streets in 2007, and I raced for a Valencian team in Formula Nissan. But as for races on this circuit, they haven’t gone very well. In 2008, I had an accident on the first lap with Nakajima, and in the last two years, there have been circumstances with the safety car. You have to be competitive but also lucky and in the right place, at the right time, when the safety car comes out. » The Spaniard, who has had two convincing outings – aside from his retirement in Canada – can hope for revenge on this circuit that has never smiled upon him, especially as the freeze on engine mappings between qualifying and the race might narrow the gaps with Red Bull in qualifying, even though the Asturian doesn’t seem to rely too much on it.

Lewis Hamilton: Unlike his former teammate and great rival, Lewis Hamilton regularly excels in Valencia, securing three second-place finishes in three races, not to mention a pole position in 2008 and a third place as his worst starting position on the grid, making it the best average starting position (2) ahead of Felipe Massa (3) and Sebastian Vettel (3.67). The Brit could have won the race there in 2009, if not for a miscommunication during his tire change and a yellow flag that allowed Rubens Barrichello to anticipate his stop and ultimately finish ahead of the McLaren driver by less than 3 seconds. The Englishman, coming off two challenging Grand Prix, might seize the opportunity to bounce back on the streets of Valencia and regain some momentum in the drivers’ championship.

THE MYSTERY NUMBER

Europe is the 6th smallest continent in the world as its 9,938,000 km² barely allows it to surpass Oceania. However, the European continent has the second largest number of countries (46), behind Africa (53).

With 731 million inhabitants, Europe is the 3rd most populated continent behind the Asian giant and Africa.

The European Union is the world’s largest exporter of agricultural products and represents the largest automobile market in the world, ahead of the United States and China.

The European nuclear fleet (143 plants) is the largest in the world, ahead of the United States (104 plants) and Japan (54); France alone accounts for more than a third of the European nuclear fleet. However, the European Union is only the third-largest polluter on the planet, behind China and the United States, and represents 44% of the wind energy produced in the world.

But to learn even more about Europe, we invite you to discover the mystery number. You have until the start of the Grand Prix to uncover it, by asking us questions – to which we can only answer yes or no – and by avoiding using search engines. A first clue, however: the mystery number has nothing to do with F1 or Valencia.

The mystery number of the Grand Prix of Europe is 55