Spherical eight of the 2023 System 1 World Championship is on this weekend at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

There is a slight change to the circuit for this 12 months’s Spanish Grand Prix, because the monitor format returns to the one used up till 2006. The important thing distinction is the elimination of the sluggish chicane within the third sector, making the two.9-mile monitor roughly 60 ft shorter than the earlier 12 months.

Groups and drivers know the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya effectively, because it has been on the calendar since 1991 and is a well-liked web site for pre-season testing. It consists of a mixture of high-, medium-, and low-speed corners, modifications of route, undulations, and an extended start-finish straight. There’s a little bit little bit of every little thing, which makes it a really perfect place for testing.

The frequent change in wind route on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya additionally makes steadiness tougher. Often, a tailwind on the primary straight within the morning produces a headwind into the high-speed turns. This helps present higher automobile stability. It then tends to rotate in the wrong way within the afternoon, and drivers must adapt.

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, residence of the System 1 Spanish Grand Prix

Wanting on the climate forecast, some rain is predicted for each Saturday’s qualifying session and Sunday’s race.

Pirelli has nominated its hardest tire compounds for the weekend: the C1 because the White onerous, the C2 because the Yellow medium, and the C3 because the Crimson mushy. Groups throughout the observe classes may also get to check tires that includes compounds already developed for the 2024 season, Pirelli has confirmed. The compounds have been made extra resistant to allow them to take care of the sooner speeds and elevated downforce of the newest crop of F1 vehicles.

Going into the weekend, Crimson Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen leads the 2023 Drivers’ Championship with 144 factors. Fellow Crimson Bull driver Sergio Perez is second with 105 factors, and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso is third with 93 factors. Within the Constructors’ Championship, Crimson Bull leads with 249 factors. Aston Martin is second with 120 factors, and Mercedes-Benz AMG is third with 119 factors. Final 12 months’s winner in Spain was Verstappen, driving for Crimson Bull.