The track was long and incorporated a total of 25 turns – 11 left-handers and 14 right-handers. It was estimated that the track had a top speed of around , with a lap record of 1:38.683, set by Timo Glock during the 2009 European Grand Prix. Valencia was not as tight as Circuit de Monaco but overtaking opportunities were still scarce, due to the straights not being straight and the dust away from the racing line. Nico Hülkenberg noted there was quite a lot of space for a street circuit, and some corners had a lot of run-off area; Robert Kubica suggested that good traction and braking stability were crucial to win at the circuit, due to the number of long straights that ended in heavy braking zones.