The Formula 1 engineer’s guide to the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya first hosted the Spanish Grand Prix in 1991 and for many years the track hosted pre-season testing before it moved to Bahrain.

 

Once known as a track that tested every facet of an F1 car’s performance thanks to a mix of low, medium and high-speed sections, this Catalunyan circuit is now more of a medium-speed challenge thanks to track changes that mirrored the layout used by MotoGP. 

Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team deputy performance engineer Tim Wright explains the keys to success in Spain.

 

Length: 4.657 kilometres

Number of laps: 66

Number of turns: 14

 

“We tend to think of Barcelona as an average circuit, like Bahrain, but recent changes now mean Spain favours a particular type of car.

 

“The track was resurfaced in 2018 to make it much smoother and, since 2023, it has used a layout similar to how it was from 1991 to 2007 with more high-speed corners in the final sector - doing away with the chicane and sharp Turn 10 left-hander in sector 3.

“The thing that stands out about Barcelona is that it's relatively straightforward. From a downforce point of view you're going to be at the upper end of drag sensitivity [running lower downforce]. 

“The fact that it’s a smooth track, a little bit like Shanghai, puts a lot of demand on the front tyres because most of the stressful corners run clockwise: Turns 3, 4, 9, 13 and 14. They’re all long right-handers so the demand on the front-left tyre is quite high.

“This is a circuit where there’s a real bias on tyre energy towards that one tyre, which makes it stand out compared to others on the calendar.

“That means a car that can keep its left-front tyre temperature down should perform well in Spain.”