FORMULA ONE

• F1 tackles the tough street course in Valencia

  Valencia, Spain (Sports Network) - Series: Formula One. Date: Sunday, June 27. Race: European Grand Prix. Site: Valencia Street Circuit. Track: 5.419 km (3.367 miles), 25-turn semi-permanent street course. Start Time: 8:00 a.m. (et). Laps: 57. Miles: 191.931 (308.883 km). 2009 winner: Rubens Barrichello. Television: FOX (tape delay - noon et).

  After a thrilling race two weeks ago in Montreal, Canada, Formula One returns to its home continent this weekend with the European Grand Prix on the streets of Valencia, Spain.

  The European GP had been scheduled in August the past two years, but was moved to the last weekend in June for this year's F1 calendar.

  Lewis Hamilton from McLaren won the Canadian GP and took over the world championship lead. Hamilton, the pole sitter, passed Red Bull's Mark Webber on lap 50 of the 70-lap event in Montreal. He beat his teammate Jenson Button at the finish by just 2.2 seconds for his second victory of the season. Hamilton won last month in Turkey.

  "I'm really looking forward to racing in Valencia," Hamilton said. "I had a great attacking race there last year, but I've finished second for the past two seasons, so I feel like I have some unfinished business.

  "I also think it's good for the championship to have a variety of circuits. We've just come from a fast, flowing road course in Canada to a tight street track in Valencia. Next month, we'll be at Silverstone [England] - one of the fastest tracks of the year and a circuit with incredible history." Button overtook Fernando Alonso on the final lap to finish second in the Canadian GP.

  Hamilton, the 2008 F1 titleholder, has now accumulated 109 points, compared to 106 for Button, the defending champion, and 103 for Webber.

  After running the European GP on the Nurburgring road course in Germany for nine consecutive years, F1 moved the event to Valencia in 2008.

  Alonso, in his first year with Ferrari, won the European GP in 2005 and '07, but the Spaniard has finished sixth and 20th in front of his home crowd the past two years.

  "Obviously, it's the second home race for me after Barcelona, so I'm hoping to do well there, hoping to be on the podium," Alonso said. "I've never been on the podium in Valencia, so it will be a nice feeling in front of the crowd." Alonso finished third in the Canadian GP. He kicked off this season by winning in Bahrain and then finished second in Barcelona in early May.

  Alonso is currently fourth in points (-15).

  Rubens Barrichello from Williams is the defending European GP winner. Barrichello won a F1 grand prix for the first time in five years after he benefited from Hamilton's costly pit road mistake.

  Hamilton looked as though he was on the way to victory, but he was delayed during his final pit stop when McLaren was not properly prepared for a tire change.

  Barrichello captured the lead, and then held off Hamilton for the remainder of the event to win since the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix.

  "I have great memories of Valencia," said Barrichello, who teamed with Button at Brawn GP last year. "It was my tenth win, so it was great fun."

  06/22 16:20:57 ET