Need to know ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix

Following a nail-biting qualifying session that noticed the rise of Max Verstappen and the fall of the likes of Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Sergio Perez, the discipline is preparing to compete at right now’s Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. F1technical.web’s Balázs Szabó reveals what to know ahead of Round 7 of the 2023 F1 season.

Long historical past – The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is one of the longest serving venues on the Formula 1 calendar, having held the Spanish Grand Prix yearly with out interruption because it was opened in 1991.

Today’s Spanish Grand Prix will mark the 53rd time {that a} Formula One race takes place in Spain. The occasion first appeared on the calendar in 1951, and has been held at 5 venues.

The 1951 and 1954 races came about at Barcelona on the Pedralbes road circuit earlier than the race moved to Madrid the place the Circuito del Jarama hosted the race between 1968 and 1981.

The third venue was Barcelona’s Montjuic Park, enjoying host to the occasion in 1969, 1971, 1973 and 1975. The Spanish Grand Prix had a brief stint at Jerez between 1986 and 1990 earlier than shifting to the Circuit de Catalunya in the following yr.

Stewards – Garry Connelly, Felix Holter, Derek Warwick, and David Domingo will type the group of FIA stewards at right now’s Spanish Grand Prix.

The most profitable staff – Scuderia Ferrari is the most profitable constructor at the Spanish Grand Prix with 12 victories. However, the Italian staff recorded its most up-to-date triumph way back, again in 2013 when Fernando Alonso took a well-liked house win.

McLaren is the second most profitable outfit with eight victories with Mercedes being the third most profitable thanks to their seven triumphs in the historical past of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Average size – The Circuit de Bacelona-Catalunya incorporates a format that has a size of 4657m. The begin line-finish line offset is 126m. Drivers will want to rack up a complete of 66 laps at right now’s Spanish Grand Prix, which is equal to 307.237km.

Pit lane – Drivers will want to adhere to a pace restrict of 80 km/h in the pit lane.

Schumacher and Hamilton – The German and the Briton are the most profitable drivers at the Spanish Grand Prix with six victories every. Schumacher first received in 1995 with Benetton, adopted by 5 victories for Ferrari (1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004).

Hamilton received right here in 2014 for the first time, and was unstoppable in the years between 2017 and 2021.

Two DRS zones – As in the earlier years, two DRS zones will likely be in use. The first has a detection level 86m earlier than Turn 9 and an activation level 40m after. The second detection level is at the Safety Car line, with activation 57m after Turn 16.

Modifications – The observe has been up to date since the discipline final visited the venue final May. The most important change is that the observe reverts to the earlier format that leads to the elimination of the remaining chicane. Instead, vehicles will take the sooner route, dashing by means of the extraordinarily quick second-to-last nook.

Two-stop technique – For right now’s 66-lap Barcelona spherical, Pirelli expects a two-stopper. This is down to the comparatively excessive ranges of tyre put on and degradation seen at the Barcelona circuit, with its abrasive asphalt and high-energy corners. Another motive is the incontrovertible fact that not a lot time is misplaced in the pits, which makes a two-stopper way more viable, in addition to the incontrovertible fact that the onerous tyre is slower right here.