Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

How it began

The circuit was built at Montmeló, north of Barcelona, ahead of the 1992 Olympic Games, and opened on 10 September 1991. Three weeks later, on 29 September 1991, it hosted the Spanish Grand Prix: Nigel Mansell won for Williams, and his wheel-to-wheel duel with Ayrton Senna along the entire main straight became one of the best-known images of that season.

Before that the Spanish Grand Prix moved around: Pedralbes in Barcelona in 1951 and 1954, Jarama near Madrid and the Montjuïc street circuit in Barcelona from 1968 to 1981, and Jerez from 1986 to 1990. From 1991 to 2025 the race was held at Catalunya every season, and from 2026 the round is called the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix: the Spanish Grand Prix has moved to Madrid.

The track

The 4.657 km lap with fourteen corners combines a long main straight, fast corners in the first part of the lap and a slow sequence before the finish line. Because of its variety of corners the track was used for pre-season testing for many years, and the teams know it better than any other.

In 2007 a slow chicane was added at the end of the lap, and since 2023 Formula 1 has once again taken the last two corners in their fast form, as before 2007. Overtaking is difficult here, and the main chance is under braking into the first corner at the end of the straight.

Memorable races

On 2 June 1996 Michael Schumacher took his first win for Ferrari in pouring rain, finishing more than forty seconds ahead of the runner-up.

On 14 May 2006 Fernando Alonso became the first Spaniard to win his home Grand Prix. On 13 May 2012 Pastor Maldonado gave Williams their first win since 2004 — the only win of his career.

On 15 May 2016 Max Verstappen won on his very first outing for Red Bull, aged eighteen, and became the youngest winner in championship history; the leaders, Hamilton and Rosberg in their Mercedes, had collided on the first lap.

The 2026 season

In 2026 the round is called the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and takes place on 14 June, a week after Monaco. The season runs under the new rules: new power units with about half of their power coming from electricity, active aerodynamics and eleven teams — Cadillac joins the championship, and Sauber is taken over by Audi.