Five Things You Didn't Know About the Barcelona-Catalunya GP

Third circuit to host F1 in Barcelona

The Spanish Grand Prix has had a home at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya since 1991, but did you know it’s not the first time the championship has raced in the city?

Pedralbes was the first, a street course that welcomed Grand Prix racing twice across 1951 and 1954 before being retired as a racing venue.

Then there was Montjuïc, which goes down in Formula 1 folklore as one of the best circuits to ever exist, and hosted the championship across four occasions in 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975.

Motorsport journalist Nigel Roebuck once described it as “the greatest street circuit I ever saw” adding “imagine Monaco, but with more variety of turn and gradient, and much faster, and some flavour of Montjuïc Park should then emerge.” It was also the location that Lella Lombardi became the first, and so far only, woman to score points in a World Championship F1 event.

Olympics 🤝F1

This is a theme we’ve already explored in this series, after Canada’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was created after the conclusion of the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics. This time around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was built as part of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics development programme.

The circuit's foundations were laid in 1989, and after two Formula 1 rounds in ‘91 and ‘92, the track hosted the road team time trial cycling and para-cycling events where it acted as the start-finish lines.

Did you know that the Barcelona beaches are also a result of the Olympics being in town? The city imported sand all the way from Egypt to make up the now famous beaches.

Highest pole to win ratio at a circuit

Perhaps it’s no surprise after completing miles and miles of this circuit both for the Grand Prix but also its extensive use of pre-season testing, drivers and teams know this place like the back of their hand.

This familiarity could be why Barcelona-Catalunya provides the top conversion from pole position to victory on the current calendar. Across the 35 occasions that Formula 1 has raced here, 25 of those races have been won from pole which is over 71 percent! From 2001 to 2010, there were 10 consecutive races where this phenomenon occurred.

Going green off the track

Last year the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was noted for being the world’s most sustainable motor racing circuit for the second year in-a-row, after Professor Paolo Taticchi with Enovation Consulting published the Sustainable Circuits Index (SCI).

It was the first circuit on the F1 calendar to obtain a three star Environmental Excellence Certificate from the FIA, and has its own sustainability goals as outlined on their website.

Barcelona’s brilliant buildings

Just a half an hour drive from the centre of one of Spain’s most popular cities, the circuit offers fans a great blend of racing and relaxation if you come to visit. Perhaps known for its incredible array of architecture, there’s so much to see and do around.

As the birthplace of historic designer Antoni Gaudí, a visit to the Basílica de la Sagrada Família is a must. Construction began in 1882, and it is still unfinished but did reach its final height of 172.5 metres (566 ft) earlier this year. It is expected to be completed by 2034.

Marriott Bonvoy’s Traveller guide also recommended: “don’t miss taking the funicular to the top of Tibidabo mountain, Barcelona’s highest peak at 512 meters (1,680 ft). Aside from incredible views of the city and coastline, there’s an amusement park, church and excellent restaurants to enjoy here.”