Spanish Grand Prix: Will Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya provide better F1 racing in 2023 after track changes?

The Spanish Grand Prix has reverted to its pre-2007 final sector with the return of the fast, sweeping penultimate corner; Lewis Hamilton says it’s going to be “fun” while Lando Norris is “not looking forward to it”; watch the Spanish GP live on Sky Sports this weekend

For the last 16 years, drivers and fans have called for one thing every time the Spanish Grand Prix comes around – ditch the chicane and race through the fast right-hand corners at the end of the lap.

Well finally, earlier this year, event organisers announced the return of the two, sweeping right-handers to conclude the 2.894-mile lap around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Gone is the old Turn 14/15 chicane, which was partly introduced for safety reasons and hoped to improve the racing.

However, it appeared to have the opposite effect as the cars would concertina at the apex, only for the driver in front to get on the throttle earlier, which made it hard to be close enough to challenge for an overtake into Turn One.

How much faster is the final sector?

Charles Leclerc’s pole position time of a 1:18.750 last year is expected to be bettered by over five seconds from the final sector alone.

In 2006, Fernando Alonso set a 1:14.648 to take top spot in qualifying, but the cars were very different back then and Turn 10 was also tighter compared to now.

Add on the development 12 months on from Leclerc’s 2022 lap and, depending on conditions, pole position this year is expected to be in the 1:12 region on Saturday.

The big question is if the cars will be flat out through the last two corners, something which has divided opinion.

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Ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix we take a look back at some of the most dramatic moments from previous races at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

“Our car has never liked that chicane. I’ve never liked it,” said Lewis Hamilton. “So we’re going to come out of Turn 12 and then flat, probably flat-out through the last two. It’s going to be great for our neck, great for tyre wear, and it’s going to be fun.”

Lando Norris added: “It will be even more physical on the neck, so I’m not looking forward to it at all. Whether it’s going to make for better racing, I hope so.

“It’s a tricky last corner, to be honest. I wouldn’t say it’s going to be flat-out, but I think it should help with the racing. It might become more of a management race than what it already is, and it’s already a huge management race.”

Watch the Spanish Grand Prix on Sky Sports F1

Will the 2023 layout improve racing?

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is not the most difficult track to overtake at on the F1 calendar, but it’s certainly not easy.

F1’s current generation of car has been made to improve the racing, so the cars can follow more closely. In general, this has been achieved, although there is still a degree of dirty air which makes it hard for the car behind to follow.

It’s not a guarantee there will be more overtaking due to the changes, especially if the car behind in a battle is forced to lift more than the driver in front on heavy fuel.

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“It’s going to be exciting to try the original layout without the chicane. It always seemed like a great sequence of corners – the last two corners – with it being so high-speed,” said Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

“Let’s see what that does for overtaking. I have a feeling it might be slightly better for overtaking but time will tell.”

More tyre wear, more strategy options?

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has traditionally been one of the highest degradation tracks on the calendar due to the higher speed corners and abrasive surface.

Even before the layout change, the front left gets punished a lot and Leclerc thinks the tyre will be “crying” during the 66 laps on Sunday.

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“I think the left front will be crying for the whole race,” said Leclerc. “It’s the same for everybody, it’s going to be a big challenge I think in terms of setup, and also to try and help that left front as much as possible.

“I hope that with the new parts we bring, we will be good in terms of tyre management, because I expect this to be the main thing in Barcelona.”

Barcelona is usually a two-stop race anyway, so it’s possible three pit stops could be required on Sunday, simply due to the extra stress the tyres will get from another fast corner, rather than a slow-speed chicane.

It’s fair to say tyres will be a major talking point this weekend.

Sky Sports F1’s live Spanish GP schedule

Friday June 2
8.50am: F3 Practice
10.00am: F2 Practice
12pm: Spanish GP Practice One (session starts 12.30pm)
1.55pm: F3 Qualifying
2.50pm: F2 Qualifying
3.45pm: Spanish GP Practice Two (session starts 4pm)
5.15pm: The F1 Show: Spain

Saturday June 3
9.25am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Spanish GP Practice Three (session starts 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Spanish GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: Spanish GP Qualifying
6.15pm: IndyCar – Detroit GP Qualifying

Sunday June 4
8.50am: F3 Feature Race
10.20am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Spanish GP build-up
2pm: THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag Spanish GP reaction
5.45pm: Indy NXT – Detroit GP
8pm: IndyCar – Detroit GP

Will Red Bull’s winning run in F1 2023 continue at the Spanish GP? Watch all the action live on Sky Sports F1 from June 2-4 Get Sky Sports