Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya

History

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was built in 1991 and began hosting the Spanish Grand Prix that same year. Construction also coincided with the Olympic Games scheduled to take place in Barcelona the next year, where the circuit acted as the start and finish line for the road team time trial cycling event. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya should not be confused with the Montjuïc circuit, which hosted the Spanish Grand Prix four times between 1969 and 1975 and, unlike the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, is actually located within the city of Barcelona.

Because so much testing is done at this circuit, Formula One drivers and mechanics are extremely familiar with it. This has led to criticism that drivers and mechanics are too familiar with Catalunya, reducing the amount of on-track action.

When first used, overtaking was frequent as cars could follow closely through the last two corners and slipstream down the long straight. As aerodynamic balance became more critical, this overtaking method drastically decreased as the cars were unable to follow each other through the fast final corner due to turbulence created by the leading car. The 2007 season saw the first of the two final sweepers replaced with a slow chicane in an effort to improve overtaking. However, the redesign has not yet shown any effect.

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has hosted a motorcycle Grand Prix since 1992, originally the European motorcycle Grand Prix from 1992 and later the Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix since 1996. There are at least five points on the track (turns 1, 2, 4, 10, 14) where riders are known to overtake. As in Formula 1, Turn 1 is arguably the most popular place for overtaking. The circuit is not known to produce copious amounts of overtaking, despite the long straights. Originally, the Formula 1 circuit changes were not instituted for MotoGP; however, after a fatal crash in the 2016 MotoGP round involving a Moto2 rider, the Formula 1 layout was implemented to slow down riders for safety purposes. The FIM made a further change to the chicane for 2017 by moving up the chicane to prevent riders from cutting the pit lane entrance.

The circuit hosted many other international racing series, including the FIA Sportscar Championship (1999-2002), European Touring Car Championship (2003), FIA GT Championship (2003), Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (2006-2011), European Le Mans Series (2008-2009), and World Series by Renault (2002-2004, 2006-2011). The FIA World Rallycross Championship currently visits Catalunya since 2015.

Layout

The wind direction at the circuit can change drastically during the day, a significant factor given the importance of aerodynamics to modern Formula One cars. It is then hard to find a good setup since cars can have massive aerodynamic drag and understeer on one part of the circuit in the morning, but suffer oversteer at the same part of the circuit in the afternoon. A given tyre compound can work well when tested, but not so well a couple of months later. These changeable conditions can make for unexpected performances from some teams during the race. The changeable wind conditions have also caused accidents at the circuit, with Fernando Alonso's testing accident in 2015 partly blamed on the severity of the wind.

The MotoGP layout is the same, except that the chicane is moved up a few metres. The F1 layout was implemented originally in 2016 following the fatal accident of Luis Salom in turn 12 (the grey turn after turn 13 in the F1 layout) on June 3, 2016 race control switched to the F1 circuit for qualifying and the race on June 5, 2016. On December 15, 2016, the FIM announced the change was permanent by announcing plans for a chicane ahead of the current car chicane.

The World RX of Spain uses parts of the track near turns 11-15, with two additional gravel sections.

A lap in a Formula One car

Turn 1 is the main overtaking point at Catalunya, as it is a braking zone at the end of a long DRS straight. The inside and outside are equally difficult for overtaking; drivers who can hold the line around the outside of turn one, can get the inside line for turn two. The corners themselves make up a medium-speed chicane — drivers brake rather late for turn one (Elf) and shift down to gear two, and turn two is almost full throttle as they try to gain as much exit speed as possible. Turn 3 (Renault) is a long, flat-out (in most cars) right-hander that has a g-force of about four, and it leads to a short straight before turn 4, the Repsol curve. Another right-hander, turn four is similar to Monza's Curva Parabolica — drivers brake and take an early apex (in third gear), carrying lots of speed out of the exit. Turn 5 (Seat) comes immediately after and is a slow left-hander taken in second gear which drops rapidly downhill towards the left kink of turn 6 which is ignored by F1 cars. Turns 7 and 8 make up a medium-speed, uphill, left-right chicane. Drivers brake and shift down to gear three, and must not run too wide as turn eight has a large kerb on its apex which could potentially damage cars' suspensions. Turn 9, Campsa Corner, is a very fast, sixth-gear right-hander which is made incredibly difficult by being completely blind (drivers cannot see the apex on approach). It is initially quite steep uphill but the exit is then downhill, so it is quite easy to run wide onto the astroturf. The long back straight leads into turn 10 (La Caixa), a second-gear, left-hand hairpin, then turns 11 and 12, a left kink before a long, slow, third-gear right. The next section has been redesigned by German engineer Hermann Tilke to lower speeds onto the 1,047 metre pit straight — which in turn increases overtaking opportunities and safety. Turn 13 is a tight, third-gear right-hander and drivers have to cross the track quickly to take the racing line through the slow left-right chicane of turns 14 and 15, taken in second gear. Good traction is needed here as it determines speed down the pit straight. Turn 16 (New Holland) is a flat-out right-hander which takes cars across the start/finish line.

Racing history

The circuit has been the site of some memorable moments. In 1991, Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell went down the entire front straight side-by-side while dueling for second place, with Mansell eventually taking the position and ultimately the race itself. In 1994, Michael Schumacher managed to finish in second place despite driving over half the race with only fifth gear. In 1996, Schumacher took his first win as a Ferrari driver, after a dominant performance during a torrential rainstorm. The 1999 race was notable as there was only one reported overtaking move during the race. In 2001, Mika Häkkinen suffered a clutch failure while leading the race on the last lap, handing the win to Schumacher. At the 2006 event, Fernando Alonso became the first Spanish Formula One driver to win at his home country's track.

In 2008, Heikki Kovalainen left the track at 240 km/h (149 mph) after a wheel rim failure at turn 9. He managed to decelerate to 130 km/h (81 mph) when he hit the tyre barrier. He was temporarily unconscious and suffered a minor concussion, but a few minutes later, spectators were relieved when he gave a thumbs up.

The circuit has been the scene of 2 debut wins. Pastor Maldonado took his first and only Grand Prix victory here in 2012, and in 2016 Max Verstappen won his first Grand Prix.

At the 2009 motorcycle Grand Prix, teammates Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo fought all race long for first place, culminating in an overtake on the final corner by Rossi. Riders and pundits described the race as "historic" and "genius".

On 3 June 2016, during Moto2 Free Practice for the 2016 Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, Luis Salom crashed in turn 12, resulting in the session being red-flagged. After being transferred to the local Hospital General de Catalunya, Salom died of the injuries sustained in the crash. Upon hearing this, FIM decided to change the current layout of the track to the same layout as the one used in Formula One. After off-season discussions, the FIM announced that the track layout would be slightly modified in that the chicane would be moved up a few metres.

Official lap record

The fastest laps at each different circuit configuration. (Set under race condition).

Absolute fastest lap

Fastest time ever set at each different circuit configuration. (Set under practice/qualifying condition)