Spanish Grand Prix

 

 

August 9th 21:00 GMT - Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, Barcelona

 

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.

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.

 

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 just as difficult as each other for overtaking; if you can hold it around the outside of turn one, then you get the inside for turn two. The corners themselves make up a medium speed chicane — you brake rather late for turn one (Elf) and shift down to gear two, and turn two is almost full throttle as you try and gain as much exit speed as possible. Turn 3 (Renault) is a long, flat out (in some cars) right-hander that has a g-force of about four, and it leads onto a short straight before turn 4, the Repsol curve. Another right-hander, turn four is similar to Monza's Curva Parabolica — you brake and take an early apex (in third gear), before 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 F1cars. 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 due to the fact that it is completely blind to the drivers. It is initially quite steep uphill but the exit is then downhill, making it blind, 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 engineerHermann Tilke to lower speeds onto the pit straight — which in turn increases overtaking opportunities and safety. Turn 13 is a tight, third gear right-hander and drivers have to quickly cross the circuit 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.[5] Turn 16 (New Holland) is a flat-out right-hander which takes you across the line.