Catalunya Circuit layout & records

Catalunya circuit: three corners in detail

Turn 1 to 3
The first corner comes at the end of the 1km pit straight on which speeds will peak at well over 300kph. The car and engine are therefore subject to heavy braking loads as the driver scrubs off 50% of that speed to take the first corner at approximately 140kph. Halfway through Turn 1, drivers start to accelerate into Turn 2 and Turn 3 (also known as Renault) but as the Catalunya circuit starts to climb a car will have a tendency towards ‘snappy’ oversteer. Having a delay in engine response or an overshoot in torque delivery will only confirm this trend, thus increasing tyre wear as the car tries to slide to one side and subject the tyres to lateral g-force.

Turn 10
Once through Turn 9 the track begins to descend into Turn 10. The braking zone for this corner is the hardest one of the track, as the cars arrive at 300kph and take the turn at just over 70kph. To give the right stability engineers work very hard on the overrun settings, trying to give neutral engine braking when the driver is off the throttle. In parallel engineers will try to make the downward gear shifts as smooth as possible so the torque gradient change is ironed out and not too aggressive. Giving smooth downshifts and the right level of overrun will result in a better balance, thus helping to control wheel lock and minimize tyre wear. By the end of the corner the driver is down in first gear but needs to accelerate back up the hill. This sends huge loads through the tyres so pedal maps are often designed with just this corner in mind.

Turn 14 to 16
The chicane on this track is very slow and needs, again, the right amount of engine torque, not only at the entry of the corner but in the midpoint of the chicane. In fact the driver will just blip the throttle between the entry and the exit of the chicane as he changes direction. Even if he is only on the power for a millisecond balancing the car on this knife edge is critical to keep the car balanced, minimize wheelspin and ultimately gain lap time. Once the cars exit this chicane traction is very important as the speed will be carried through turn 16, with the driver ultimately going flat out using KERS onto the pit straight.

Year	Race	Date	Driver	Team	Laps
2013	2013 Spanish F1 GP result	12 May	1 Fernando Alonso 2 Kimi Räikkönen 3 Felipe Massa	Ferrari Lotus F1 Ferrari	66 66 66
2012	2012 Spanish Grand Prix result	13 May	1 Pastor Maldonado 2 Fernando Alonso 3 Kimi Räikkönen	Williams Ferrari Lotus F1	66 66 66
2011	2011 Spanish Grand Prix result	22 May	1 Sebastian Vettel 2 Lewis Hamilton 3 Jenson Button	Red Bull McLaren McLaren	66 66 66
2010	2010 Spanish Grand Prix result	9 May	1 Mark Webber 2 Fernando Alonso 3 Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Ferrari Red Bull	66 66 66
2009	2009 Spanish Grand Prix result	10 May	1 Jenson Button 2 Rubens Barrichello 3 Mark Webber	Brawn Brawn Red Bull	66 66 66
2008	2008 Spanish Grand Prix result	27 April	1 Kimi Räikkönen 2 Felipe Massa 3 Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari Ferrari McLaren	66 66 66
2007	2007 Spanish Grand Prix result	13 May	1 Felipe Massa 2 Lewis Hamilton 3 Fernando Alonso	Ferrari McLaren McLaren	65 65 65
2006	2006 Spanish Grand Prix result	14 May	1 Fernando Alonso 2 Michael Schumacher 3 Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault Ferrari Renault	66 66 66
2005	2005 Spanish Grand Prix result	8 May	1 Kimi Räikkönen 2 Fernando Alonso 3 Jarno Trulli	McLaren Renault Toyota	66 66 66
2004	2004 Spanish Grand Prix result	9 May	1 Michael Schumacher 2 Rubens Barrichello 3 Jarno Trulli	Ferrari Ferrari Renault	66 66 66
2003	2003 Spanish Grand Prix result	4 May	1 Michael Schumacher 2 Fernando Alonso 3 Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari Renault Ferrari	65 65 65
2002	2002 Spanish Grand Prix result	28 April	1 Michael Schumacher 2 Juan Pablo Montoya 3 David Coulthard	Ferrari Williams McLaren	65 65 65
2001	2001 Spanish Grand Prix result	29 April	1 Michael Schumacher 2 Juan Pablo Montoya 3 Jacques Villeneuve	Ferrari Williams BAR	65 65 65
2000	2000 Spanish Grand Prix result	7 May	1 Mika Häkkinen 2 David Coulthard 3 Rubens Barrichello	McLaren McLaren Ferrari	65 65 65
1999	1999 Spanish Grand Prix result	30 May	1 Mika Häkkinen 2 David Coulthard 3 Michael Schumacher	McLaren McLaren Ferrari	65 65 65
1998	1998 Spanish Grand Prix result	May 10	1 Mika Häkkinen 2 David Coulthard 3 Michael Schumacher	McLaren McLaren Ferrari	65 65 65
1997	1997 Spanish Grand Prix result	25 May	1 Jacques Villeneuve 2 Olivier Panis 3 Jean Alesi	Williams Prost Benetton	64 64 64
1996	1996 Spanish Grand Prix result	2 June	1 Michael Schumacher 2 Jean Alesi 3 Jacques Villeneuve	Ferrari Benetton Williams	65 65 65
1995	1995 Spanish Grand Prix result	14 May	1 Michael Schumacher 2 Johnny Herbert 3 Gerhard Berger	Benetton Benetton Ferrari	65 65 65
1994	1994 Spanish Grand Prix result	29 May	1 Damon Hill 2 Michael Schumacher 3 Mark Blundell	Williams Benetton Tyrrell	65 65 65
1993	1993 Spanish Grand Prix result	9 May	1 Alain Prost 2 Ayrton Senna 3 Michael Schumacher	Williams McLaren Benetton	65 65 65
1992	1992 Spanish Grand Prix result	May 3	1 Nigel Mansell 2 Michael Schumacher 3 Jean Alesi	Williams Benetton Ferrari	65 65 65
1991	1991 Spanish Grand Prix result	September 29	1 Nigel Mansell 2 Alain Prost 3 Riccardo Patrese	Williams Ferrari Williams	65 65 65

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