Five things to know ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix

Following a hectic Monaco Grand Prix, we’ve made the 600km trip along the Mediterranean coast for the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix.

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has been an ever-present destination on the Formula 1 calendar since 1991, with the layout undergoing a handful of changes across the last three decades.

The same can be said ahead of this year's race, so to find out about that and more, here are five things you should know ahead of the weekend.

It was a section of track that was unpopular with fans as well as some drivers, but now it is no more.

The final sector chicane, introduced in 2007, has been removed, making the closing stages of a lap now a sequence of sweeping right-handers back towards the start-finish line.

In late 2022, it became clear that circuit bosses were keen to get the non-chicane layout homologated by the FIA to Grade 1 status.

As such, new barriers have been installed at Turn 13 and 14, with 18 metres shaved off the track length. The 4.657km layout will now be several seconds quicker than last year's layout, with a higher top speed as they cut the timing beam and the increased chance of overtakes into Turn 1.

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is no stranger to layout changes, with Turn 10 being deepened as recently as 2021.

The Barcelona paddock and commute to the track will almost be second nature to everyone on the grid this weekend.

Because of its perfect blend of fast, medium and low-speed corners, European location and usually spot-on weather, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has become one of the most popular testing locations in motorsport.

As such, our drivers have clocked up thousands of laps at the Catalan venue throughout their junior careers, with both having tasted success here too.

Alex Albon won here in his GP3 days, whilst also securing a podium in Formula 2 with Logan Sargeant winning in Formula Renault Eurocup alongside podium appearances in Formula 3 and F2.

When Formula 1 returned to Barcelona, Williams Racing were at the peak of its 1990s powers.

The yellow, blue and white machines, led by Sir Frank Williams and Sir Patrick Head, would win the first four races ever to be held at the venue.

Nigel Mansell stormed to victory in wet conditions on the circuit's debut in ‘91, following it up the very next year with an even more convincing win.

Having qualified over a second ahead of Michael Schumacher, Our Nige guided his FW14B to the win, 23 seconds clear of the chasing pack.

With no Mansell around in ‘93, there was always going to be a new winner – step forward Alain Prost, but he didn’t have it easy.

Following a Williams front-row lockout, Damon Hill had jumped into the lead at the start before the duo pulled away.

Prost would get him back on the eleventh lap before Hill was forced to retire, leaving Prost comfortably ahead of the rest.

The Brit would get his way in ‘94 as Damon turned P2 on the grid to P1 on the podium. It was an emotional milestone for the whole team, as it marked the team's first victory following the passing of Ayrton Senna earlier in that month.

When the team arrives at a new circuit or one that has seen a layout change, it is important to ensure that what Alex and Logan experience in the cockpit is the same as what they have been in the simulator.

The state-of-the-art sim back at Grove includes even the very finest of details found at every circuit we race on, from bumps to surface changes, all so it is as accurate as possible.

This is also one of the key parts of the pre-race track walk, as drivers discuss with their engineers any inconsistencies they might discover whilst taking their slowest lap of the weekend.

Despite only celebrating the first Spanish F1 race winner this side of the millennium, Spain has held more than its fair share of grands prix across a variety of circuits.

Six different venues have hosted an F1 championship race in the largest nation on the Iberian peninsula, with only France (seven) and the USA (12) having more.

It all began at Pedralbes in 1951, a long street course in a suburb of Barcelona. Jarama was next, a permanent circuit north of the capital city, Madrid.

This venue alternated with the Montjuïc circuit, another street venue in Barcelona but this one was much shorter and ultimately much more dangerous, hosting just four Spanish Grands Prix.

It’s still possible to walk this circuit today, as the streets make up what is now part of the Olympic Park.

Jerez took charge in the mid-80s, playing host to five Spanish Grands Prix plus a couple of European Grands Prix in the 90s.

As mentioned we’ve visited this weekend’s venue, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, every year since 1991, but did you know it was built for the 1992 Summer Olympics? If not, now you do! It acted as the start and finish for the road team time trial cycling event.

The sixth and final Spanish venue never hosted a Spanish GP, but it held five European GPs instead - at the Valencia Street Circuit.

A lot of this circuit still exists around the main city marina, though much of the final sector lies abandoned.