Toto Talks Spain
We have continued to make incremental gains across the past few races. It was encouraging therefore to take another positive step forward in Canada. To see that translate into our strongest team result of the season so far is a reward for everyone's hard work. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a unique track, however. It has a narrow range of corner speeds and, with a newly re-laid surface, was something of an outlier compared to more traditional venues. We know our competitors will perform more strongly at upcoming races so we will need to continue to work hard to consistently get ourselves in the fight for podiums, and eventually race wins.
Barcelona will provide a good test of our progress. It has a mix of fast, medium, and low speed corners, a long straight and plenty of elevation change. Tracks that contain this wide speed range have been a weakness of ours so far this year. This weekend will therefore provide another opportunity to evaluate our progress through our recent updates, and we hope to build on the positive momentum from Montreal.
Fact File: Spanish Grand Prix
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is an ideal track for testing an F1 car, as it has a wide range of corner types and speeds, plus some long straights. Slow-speed corners like Turns 5 and 10 focus on mechanical grip, but high-speed sections such as Turns 3 and 9 test a car’s aerodynamic grip.
Sector three is incredibly important and drivers can find a lot of lap time here in the slow corners. It can be rare for a driver to set three purple sectors at the circuit, because maximising grip and being faster in sector one will overheat the tyres for the crucial third sector.
The chicane in the final sector of the lap was removed for the 2023 race, reverting back to the previous track layout for the final two corners.
Most of the track’s low-speed turns are left-handers and most of the right-handers are taken at high speeds. So slightly different car set-ups can be used on the left and right-hand sides, and that track characteristic also means the left tyres wear out quicker, while the right tyres experience lower temperatures.
24 of the 33 races that have taken place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya have been won from pole.
The start of the ground effect era at the start of 2022 presented a very different challenge for the drivers around the track. For example, the long Turn 3 is now taken at 225 km/h, compared to 240 km/h in 2021. The fast Turn 9 is now a 250 km/h right-hander, whereas in 2021 it was taken at around 265 km/h.
Along with Abu Dhabi, the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix saw the most DRS-assisted overtakes of any race last season, with 56.
Barcelona is the only track that George Russell has recorded two podium finishes at in Formula 1. (2022 and 2023)
The 2023 race was the best return of the year for the team, finishing P2 (Lewis) and P3 (George), bringing home 33 points.
Lewis recorded his 100th pole position at the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix.
Lewis holds the record for most consecutive wins at a Grand Prix circuit with five in Barcelona (2017-2021). He shares this record with Ayrton Senna and Monaco (1989-1993)
George triumphed at Barcelona in 2018 while driving in Formula 2. He shared the podium that day with future F1 drivers Lando Norris and Nyck de Vries.
