Barcelona - Spain

In 1991 however the Spanish GP moved to a new home just twelve miles north of Barcelona - the Circuit de Catalunya at Montmelo. Although the circuit wasn't due to host its first GP until 1992, a change to the F1 calendar meant that Barcelona had to be ready a year early - this resulted in many of the facilities being unfinished at the time of the event, however the circuit has always been popular with the drivers.

Giancarlo Fisichella describes a lap of the Barcelona circuit:

"A lap of the circuit starts half way along the long start/finish line which, at nearly 830 metres, is one of the longest straights in the F1 calendar.

At the end of this straight I brake very hard indeed from over 185 mph (300 kph) to just under 80 mph (130 kph) for the 2nd gear right-hand corner (Elf). This is immediately followed by a left-hand corner which is taken accelerating through 3rd gear at around 100 mph (165 kph) which in turn leads into the very long 4th gear Renault corner. This corner is extremely difficult as it has a length of over 350 m during which the tyres get really highly stressed.

The approach to Elf is where Nigel Mansell passed Ayrton Senna in 1991. Elf is where Giancarlo Fisichella and Eddie Irvine collided in 1998.

On the following short straight I briefly grab 4th gear before braking from 180 mph (285 kph) for the 2nd gear right-hand Repsol corner, which I take at about 80 mph (125 kph). After a very short acceleration its back down to 2nd gear for the slow left- hand corner (Seat) which is taken at under 55 mph (90 kph).

I then build up speed to 4th gear and 160 mph (260 kph) before taking the next 2nd gear left-hander at around 80 mph (130 kph). The next corner is a right-hander (Campsa) taken in 4th gear at around 130 mph (210 kph), it is really tricky and I have to use extremely fine throttle control. This leads on to the back straight where I remain in 5th gear reaching 180 mph (290 kph) before hard braking for the tight 2nd gear left-hand La Caixa corner which is taken at just below 60 mph (100 kph), this is almost immediately followed by the tight right-hand 2nd gear Banc Sabadell corner taken at around 70 mph (110 kph).

The short straight after Campsa is where the temporary chicane was installed in 1994. La Caixa is where Nigel Mansell retired from the race, and indeed F1, in 1995.

This leads to the final two corners which are two of the most challenging not only on this circuit but of the whole season. Both are taken in 4th gear, the penultimate corner at 140 mph (230 kph) and the final corner at 135 mph (220kph). It's important I get a good exit to maximise speed down the long straight & in order to get this I have to use the kerbs so its quite an exciting corner!"

The 2nd of these right-handers is where Andrea Montermini crashed heavily during practice for the 1994 GP, luckily he suffered only minor injuries. The track surface at Barcelona doesn't give drivers the smoothest of drives and the rough nature of the track surface combined with the pressures of cornering can mean tyre-wear is often quite severe. Minimum downforce is a possibility, although having to nurse the car through the corners can often be too big a disadvantage so teams are more likely to go for the medium set-up.