Catalunya 1818

Catalunya

The Circuito de Catalunya at Montmelo is Barcelona’s fourth major circuit after Villafranca, Pedralbes and Montjuich Park.

The Circuito de Catalunya at Montmelo is Barcelona’s fourth major circuit after Villafranca, Pedralbes and Montjuich Park. It was built at great expense to hold the 1991 Spanish Grand Prix in the backlash surrounding Martin Donnelly’s near-fatal accident at Jerez a year earlier. The inaugural race featured Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell going wheel to wheel the length of the long main straight as they battled for the World Championship. The Nissan corner was slowed by a temporary tyre chicane for the 1994 race, as Formula 1 struggled to address safety concerns, and was bypassed in 1995. Twelve years later, a chicane was introduced between the final two corners for car racing but little could improve overtaking opportunities. Michael Schumacher’s six victories here included successive wins from 2001-04. Mercedes-Benz dominated in the turbo hybrid era but Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collided in 2016, handing Max Verstappen the chance to become F1’s youngest winner on his Red Bull debut. The circuit was officially renamed Circuito de Barcelona-Catalunya in 2013 following a sponsorship agreement with the city.

Grand Prix Circuit

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Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.905 (Miles)

Change

Turn 10 reprofiled

Fastest Race Lap

Max Verstappen (Red Bull RB16B-Honda), 1m18.149, 136.277 mph, F1, 2021

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Benz F1 W12 E Performance), 1m16.741, 136.277 mph, F1, 2021

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.892 (Miles)

Change

Chicane built at the penultimate corner

Fastest Race Lap

Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-Benz F1 W11 EQ Performance), 1m15.183, 138.479 mph, F1, 2020

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-Benz F1 W10 EQ Power+), 1m15.406, 138.069 mph, F1, 2019

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.875 (Miles)

Change

New section built at La Caixa, previous layout retained for motorcycle races

Fastest Race Lap

Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault R25), 1m15.641, 136.831 mph, F1, 2005

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Fernando Alonso (Renault R26), 1m14.648, 138.651 mph, F1, 2006

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.937 (Miles)

Change

The back straight built to bypass Nissan Esses

Fastest Race Lap

Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari F2003-GA), 1m20.143, 131.929 mph, F1, 2003

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Michael Schumacher (Ferrari F2002), 1m16.364, 138.458 mph, F1, 2002

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.9497 (Miles)

Change

Temporary tyre chicane inserted before Nissan Esses for car races

Fastest Race Lap

Michael Schumacher (Benetton B194-Ford), 1m25.155, 124.701 mph, F1, 1994

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Michael Schumacher (Benetton B194-Ford), 1m21.908, 129.645 mph, F1, 1994

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.9497 (Miles)

Change

Original Grand Prix circuit

Fastest Race Lap

Michael Schumacher (Benetton B193B-Ford), 1m20.989, 131.116 mph, F1, 1993

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Alain Prost (Williams FW15C-Renault), 1m17.809, 136.474 mph, F1, 1993

National Circuit

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Type

Permanent road course

Length

1.908 (Miles)

Change

La Caixa reprofiled

Type

Permanent road course

Length

1.85 (Miles)

Change

Chicane built at the penultimate corner

Type

Permanent road course

Length

1.833 (Miles)

Grand Prix Circuit Without Chicane

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2021

Type

Permanent road course

Length

2.894 (Miles)

Change

La Caixa reprofiled

Fastest Race Lap

Max Verstappen (Red Bull RB19-Honda RBPT), 1m16.330, 136.492 mph, F1, 2023

Fastest Qualifying Lap

Max Verstappen (Red Bull RB19-Honda RBPT), 1m12.272, 144.156 mph, F1, 2023

Latest Races

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3,400

Championships

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19,213

Results

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25,172

Drivers

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14,532

Teams

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889

Circuits

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