The Spanish Grand Prix is a Formula One race currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating its centenary in 2013.
The race had modest beginnings as a production car race. Interrupted by the First World War, the race waited a decade for its second running before becoming a staple of the European calendar. It was promoted to the European Championship in 1935 before the Spanish Civil War brought an end to racing. The race was successfully revived in 1967 and has been a regular part of the Formula One World Championship since 1968 at a variety of venues.
Spanish Grand Prix, Fifth round of the 2016 Formula 1 season
Circuit Name: Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya
Race Laps: 66
Circuit Length: 4.655 km (2.892 mi)
Race Length: 307.104 km (190.825 mi)
Number of corners: 16 (9 Right, 7 Left)
DRS Zone: Two Zones (Zone 1 between turns 9 and 10, Zone 2 Start/Finish Line Between Turn 16 and 1)
Circuit Direction: Clockwise
Pole Position 2015: Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:24.681
Pirelli used compounds
|
Team |
Car # |
Driver |
Hard |
Medium |
Soft |
|
Mercedes AMG |
44 |
Lewis Hamilton |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
6 |
Nico Rosberg |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
|
Scuderia Ferrari |
5 |
Sebastian Vettel |
1 |
4 |
8 |
|
7 |
Kimi Raikkonen |
1 |
4 |
8 |
|
|
Williams-Mercedes |
19 |
Felipe Massa |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
77 |
Valtteri Bottas |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
|
Red Bull Racing |
3 |
Daniel Ricciardo |
2 |
4 |
7 |
|
26 |
Daniil Kvyat |
2 |
4 |
7 |
|
|
Force India-Mercedes |
11 |
Sergio Perez |
2 |
5 |
6 |
|
27 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
2 |
5 |
6 |
|
|
Renault |
20 |
Kevin Magnussen |
2 |
4 |
7 |
|
30 |
Jolyon Palmer |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
|
Toro Rosso-Ferrari |
33 |
Max Verstappen |
1 |
6 |
6 |
|
55 |
Carlos Sainz Jr. |
2 |
5 |
6 |
|
|
Sauber-Ferrari |
9 |
Marcus Ericsson |
2 |
6 |
5 |
|
12 |
Felipe Nasr |
2 |
6 |
5 |
|
|
McLaren-Honda |
14 |
Fernando Alonso |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
22 |
Jenson Button |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
|
Manor-Mercedes |
88 |
Rio Haryanto |
2 |
5 |
6 |
|
94 |
Pascal Wehrlein |
2 |
5 |
6 |
|
|
Haas-Ferrari |
8 |
Romain Grosjean |
2 |
3 |
8 |
|
21 |
Esteban Gutierrez |
1 |
4 |
8 |
Pirelli will bring the following three compounds to the fifth round of the 2016 Formula One season in Spain, to be held (13 – 15 May) on The Barcelona Circuit
P Zero Orange hard: Seen for the first time this year, but no driver has chosen more than one set.
P Zero White medium: A versatile tyre that is a good compromise between performance and durability.
P Zero Yellow soft: More than a second faster than the White medium in Barcelona, but unlikely to last for long.
The tires that Pirelli has said must be used at some point in the race:
One set of P Zero Orange hard
One set of P Zero White medium
Each driver must have both these sets available for the race, and must use at least one of them.
The tires assigned for Q3 in qualifying:
One set of P Zero Yellow soft.
HOW IT WAS A YEAR AGO:
Winner: Rosberg (two stops: started on medium, medium again on lap 15, hard on lap 44).
Best-placed alternative strategy: Hamilton, second with three stops (just the penultimate stint on the hard tyre).
Most drivers: A mixture of two and three stop strategies, with most teams adopting a flexible approach.
PAUL HEMBERY, PIRELLI MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR:
“Spain always provides a very big test for the tyres due to the high energy loads that the circuit generates, and this year that will especially be the case with most teams having favoured the softer compounds in their selections. Of course they will be able to rely on the data accumulated during pre-season testing, but at this time of year we expect conditions to be much warmer. As a result we should see high wear and degradation leading to several pit stops, which of course opens up a very large number of strategic variables for the grand prix.”
WHAT’S NEW?
After the grand prix there will be a two-day in season test, which most teams will attend.
The 2017 tyre development programme is underway, with Jean-Eric Vergne testing a modified 2014 Ferrari at Mugello last week.
The GP2 Series and GP3 Series gets underway this weekend, with a strong field in each and some new tyres for GP3, which has an entirely new car for 2016.
Drivers / Teams compound choices
|
Team |
Car # |
Driver |
Hard |
Medium |
Soft |
|
Mercedes AMG |
44 |
Lewis Hamilton |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
6 |
Nico Rosberg |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
|
Scuderia Ferrari |
5 |
Sebastian Vettel |
1 |
4 |
8 |
|
7 |
Kimi Raikkonen |
1 |
4 |
8 |
|
|
Williams-Mercedes |
19 |
Felipe Massa |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
77 |
Valtteri Bottas |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
|
Red Bull Racing |
3 |
Daniel Ricciardo |
2 |
4 |
7 |
|
26 |
Daniil Kvyat |
2 |
4 |
7 |
|
|
Force India-Mercedes |
11 |
Sergio Perez |
2 |
5 |
6 |
|
27 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
2 |
5 |
6 |
|
|
Renault |
20 |
Kevin Magnussen |
2 |
4 |
7 |
|
30 |
Jolyon Palmer |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
|
Toro Rosso-Ferrari |
33 |
Max Verstappen |
1 |
6 |
6 |
|
55 |
Carlos Sainz Jr. |
2 |
5 |
6 |
|
|
Sauber-Ferrari |
9 |
Marcus Ericsson |
2 |
6 |
5 |
|
12 |
Felipe Nasr |
2 |
6 |
5 |
|
|
McLaren-Honda |
14 |
Fernando Alonso |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
22 |
Jenson Button |
1 |
5 |
7 |
|
|
Manor-Mercedes |
88 |
Rio Haryanto |
2 |
5 |
6 |
|
94 |
Pascal Wehrlein |
2 |
5 |
6 |
|
|
Haas-Ferrari |
8 |
Romain Grosjean |
2 |
3 |
8 |
|
21 |
Esteban Gutierrez |
1 |
4 |
8 |
Australian Grand Prix Winners (By year)
|
Year |
Driver |
Constructor |
Circuit |
|
2015 |
Nico Rosberg |
Mercedes |
Catalunya |
|
2014 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes |
|
|
2013 |
Fernando Alonso |
Ferrari |
|
|
2012 |
Pastor Maldonado |
Williams–Renault |
|
|
2011 |
Sebastian Vettel |
Red Bull–Renault |
|
|
2010 |
Mark Webber |
Red Bull–Renault |
|
|
2009 |
Jenson Button |
Brawn–Mercedes |
|
|
2008 |
Kimi Räikkönen |
Ferrari |
|
|
2007 |
Felipe Massa |
Ferrari |
|
|
2006 |
Fernando Alonso |
Renault |
|
|
2005 |
Kimi Räikkönen |
McLaren–Mercedes |
|
|
2004 |
Michael Schumacher |
Ferrari |
|
|
2003 |
Michael Schumacher |
Ferrari |
|
|
2002 |
Michael Schumacher |
Ferrari |
|
|
2001 |
Michael Schumacher |
Ferrari |
|
|
2000 |
Mika Häkkinen |
McLaren–Mercedes |
|
|
1999 |
Mika Häkkinen |
McLaren–Mercedes |
|
|
1998 |
Mika Häkkinen |
McLaren–Mercedes |
|
|
1997 |
Jacques Villeneuve |
Williams–Renault |
|
|
1996 |
Michael Schumacher |
Ferrari |
|
|
1995 |
Michael Schumacher |
Benetton–Renault |
|
|
1994 |
Damon Hill |
Williams–Renault |
|
|
1993 |
Alain Prost |
Williams–Renault |
|
|
1992 |
Nigel Mansell |
Williams–Renault |
|
|
1991 |
Nigel Mansell |
Williams–Renault |
|
|
1990 |
Alain Prost |
Ferrari |
Jerez |
|
1989 |
Ayrton Senna |
McLaren–Honda |
|
|
1988 |
Alain Prost |
McLaren–Honda |
|
|
1987 |
Nigel Mansell |
Williams–Honda |
|
|
1986 |
Ayrton Senna |
Lotus–Renault |
|
|
1985 |
Not held |
||
|
– |
|||
|
1982 |
|||
|
1981 |
Gilles Villeneuve |
Ferrari |
Jarama |
|
1979 |
Patrick Depailler |
Ligier–Ford |
|
|
1978 |
Mario Andretti |
Lotus–Ford |
|
|
1977 |
Mario Andretti |
Lotus–Ford |
|
|
1976 |
James Hunt |
McLaren–Ford |
|
|
1975 |
Jochen Mass |
McLaren–Ford |
Montjuïc |
|
1974 |
Niki Lauda |
Ferrari |
Jarama |
|
1973 |
Émerson Fittipaldi |
Lotus–Ford |
Montjuïc |
|
1972 |
Émerson Fittipaldi |
Lotus–Ford |
Jarama |
|
1971 |
Jackie Stewart |
Tyrrell–Ford |
Montjuïc |
|
1970 |
Jackie Stewart |
March–Ford |
Jarama |
|
1969 |
Jackie Stewart |
Matra–Ford |
Montjuïc |
|
1968 |
Graham Hill |
Lotus–Ford |
Jarama |
|
1966 |
Not held |
||
|
– |
|||
|
1955 |
|||
|
1954 |
Mike Hawthorn |
Ferrari |
Pedralbes |
|
1953 |
Not held |
||
|
– |
|||
|
1952 |
|||
|
1951 |
Juan Manuel Fangio |
Alfa Romeo |
Pedralbes |
|
1950 |
Not held |
||
|
– |
|||
|
1936 |
|||
Multiple Winners (Drivers)
|
# Wins |
Driver |
Years won |
|
6 |
Michael Schumacher |
1995, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 |
|
3 |
Jackie Stewart |
1969, 1970, 1971 |
|
Nigel Mansell |
1987, 1991, 1992 |
|
|
Alain Prost |
1988, 1990, 1993 |
|
|
Mika Häkkinen |
1998, 1999, 2000 |
|
|
2 |
Emerson Fittipaldi |
1972, 1973 |
|
Mario Andretti |
1977, 1978 |
|
|
Ayrton Senna |
1986, 1989 |
|
|
Kimi Räikkönen |
2005, 2008 |
|
|
Fernando Alonso |
2006, 2013 |
Multiple Winners (Constructors)
|
# Wins |
Constructor |
Years won |
|
12 |
Ferrari |
1954, 1974, 1981, 1990, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2013 |
|
8 |
McLaren |
1975, 1976, 1988, 1989, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005 |
|
7 |
Williams |
1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2012 |
|
6 |
Lotus |
1968, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1986 |
|
4 |
Mercedes |
1934, 1935, 2014, 2015 |
Numbers and Facts
Most wins (driver) 6 – Michael Schumacher 1995 – 1996 – 2001 – 2002 –2003 – 2004
Most wins (constructor) 12 Ferrari 1954 – 74 – 81 – 90 – 96 – 2001 – 02 – 03 – 04 – 07 – 08 – 13
Wins from pole position 25 Recent 2015
Lowest grid for past winner 11 Jochen Mass – 1975
Most recent 1-2 finish 2015 Mercedes (Nico Rosberg- Lewis Hamilton)
Most emphatic win (here) 2 laps 1969 – Jackie Stewart-Bruce McLaren (Montjuic Park)
Closest winning margin 0.014S, 1986 – Ayrton Senna-Nigel Mansell (Jerez)
Rain-affected races 3, 1972 – 1992 – 1996
Safety Car-affected races 4, 2003 – 2005 – 2008 – 2009
Red Flag (and result declared) races 1, 1975
Fastest race 2006 66 laps @1hr 26m 21.759s
Slowest race (here) 1954 80 laps@ 3hr 13m 52.1s (Pedrables)
Most pole positions (driver) 7 Michael Schumacher 1994 – 1995 – 2000 – 2001 – 2002 – 2003 – 2004
Most pole positions (constructor) 13 Ferrari 1951 – 68 – 71 – 72 – 74 – 75 – 2000 – 01 – 02 – 03 – 04 – 07 – 08
What Happened last race here?
Nico Rosberg took his first victory of the 2015 season as the Mercedes Formula 1 team secured a commanding one-two.
The German led away from pole and remained unthreatened for the duration of the race, with his team-mate Lewis Hamilton second 17.5 seconds adrift and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel 27.7s further back in third at the finish.
Hamilton lost a place to Vettel at the start and after struggling to find a way past, Mercedes called him in to try the undercut.
But a problem fitting the left-rear tyre lost Hamilton three seconds so when Vettel pitted the next lap, he easily came out in front of him.
Hamilton did a three-stop strategy. In contrast, Vettel stayed out to suggest he was on a two-stopper. When the German pitted with 26 laps to go, he rejoined behind Hamilton, who was pushing hard to try to build a gap to enable him to pit and rejoin ahead of Vettel.
And it worked out, with Hamilton exiting the pits after his third stop, and on fresher medium tyres, well clear of Vettel.
Valtteri Bottas finished fourth for Williams, ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and the other Williams of Felipe Massa.
Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Sunday 10 May 2015. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG, Tony Ross, Race Engineer, Mercedes AMG, Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG and Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari on the podium.
2015 Race Classification
|
Pos. |
Driver |
Constructor |
Time/Retired |
Grid |
|
1 |
Nico Rosberg |
Mercedes |
1:41:12.555 |
1 |
|
2 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes |
+17.551 |
2 |
|
3 |
Sebastian Vettel |
Ferrari |
+45.342 |
3 |
|
4 |
Valtteri Bottas |
Williams-Mercedes |
+59.217 |
4 |
|
5 |
Kimi Räikkönen |
Ferrari |
+1:00.002 |
7 |
|
6 |
Felipe Massa |
Williams-Mercedes |
+1:21.314 |
9 |
|
7 |
Daniel Ricciardo |
Red Bull Racing-Renault |
+1 Lap |
10 |
|
8 |
Romain Grosjean |
Lotus-Mercedes |
+1 Lap |
11 |
|
9 |
Carlos Sainz, Jr. |
Toro Rosso-Renault |
+1 Lap |
5 |
|
10 |
Daniil Kvyat |
Red Bull Racing-Renault |
+1 Lap |
8 |
|
11 |
Max Verstappen |
Toro Rosso-Renault |
+1 Lap |
6 |
|
12 |
Felipe Nasr |
Sauber-Ferrari |
+1 Lap |
15 |
|
13 |
Sergio Pérez |
Force India-Mercedes |
+1 Lap |
18 |
|
14 |
Marcus Ericsson |
Sauber-Ferrari |
+1 Lap |
16 |
|
15 |
Nico Hülkenberg |
Force India-Mercedes |
+1 Lap |
17 |
|
16 |
Jenson Button |
McLaren-Honda |
+1 Lap |
14 |
|
17 |
Will Stevens |
Marussia-Ferrari |
+3 Laps |
19 |
|
18 |
Roberto Merhi |
Marussia-Ferrari |
+4 Laps |
20 |
|
Ret |
Pastor Maldonado |
Lotus-Mercedes |
Collision damage |
12 |
|
Ret |
Fernando Alonso |
McLaren-Honda |
Brakes |
13 |
Did you know?
DRIVERS
✪ Lewis Hamilton will be looking for his 44th F1 career win aboard of course car ♯44.
✪ Hamilton has set 33 of his 51 pole positions to date on Pirelli tyres. It is 2 more than any other driver in the history of F1 (Vettel next-best 31)
✪ Hamilton is now just 17 pole positions from equalling Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 68 F1 GP pole positions. Since he has
been at Mercedes he has taken pole 25 times already. That is over 40% of all races he’s started for the team (25/ 61 = 41.0%)
✪ Hamilton has won (43) 25.1% of all GP he’s started (171) and is in the top 10 drivers races to win ratio of all-time. This is how he compares:-
- Fangio 47.0%, 2. Ascari 40.6%, 3. Clark 34.7%, 4. M.Schumacher 29.7%, 5. Ja.Stewart 27.2% 6. Vettel 26.1% (42/ 161), 7.Prost 25.6%
- Senna 25.5%, 9. Hamilton 25.1%, 10. Moss 24.2%
✪ Hamilton has led just 1 race lap so far in 2016 (0.4%). Last year he led 587 of 1,149 race laps (51%). After 4 GP in ‘15 he’d led 168 laps (74%)
✪ If Hamilton leads in Spain he will then have led 87 F1 GP, 1 more than his idol Ayrton Senna. Only Michael Schumacher has led more (116)
✪ Just 5 points separates Hamilton from Sebastian Vettel at the top of the all-time F1 points table (1924 – 1929)
✪ Hamilton equalled Niki Lauda’s 171 GP starts in Russia. Nico Rosberg meanwhile in Russia equalled Lauda’s 24 pole positions
✪ Rosberg has won the past 7 GP. It represents his best run ever in his whole motor racing career to date
✪ An 8th win in a row for Rosberg in Spain will beat the best run achieved by Michael Schumacher (Europe 2004 to Hungary 2004 inclusive). It
would also mean that then only Sebastian Vettel and Alberto Ascari will have won more Grand Prix in a row (9) than Rosberg
✪ Rosberg’s has now won 18 GP. Nobody has won more GP and not won the driver’s title at some point in their F1 career
✪ Rosberg (45 F1 podiums) has exactly half the number of F1 podiums of Hamilton (90)
✪ Vettel in Russia equalled Ayrton Senna’s 161 GP starts. In Spain he is scheduled to beat it
✪ Vettel in 161 GP to date has won 42 while Senna managed to win 41 GP in his 161 starts
CONSTRUCTORS’
✪ Mercedes aiming for an 11th pole in a row. Mercedes’ best-ever run of poles is 23 (Great Britain 2014 to Italy 2015 inclusive), and is beaten
only by Williams’s run of 24 poles in 1992 – 93
✪ Mercedes’s next pole position will be its 50th on Pirelli tyres (currently: Mercedes-1st [49], Red Bull Racing-2nd [37}, Ferrari-3rd (21])
✪ Mercedes won its 49th F1 World Championship race victory in Russia. To date Mercedes has won just over one-third of all the F1 GP it has
has competed in (49 wins/ 131 races = 37.4%).
✪ Mercedes can beat Red Bull Racing’s 57 F1 pole positions with pole in Spain
✪ Mercedes is now just 1 win behind Red Bull’s F1 career total of 50
✪ A win on Sunday would be Mercedes’s 11th in a row and would equal the all-time record set by McLaren in 1988 (Brazil to Belgium inclusive)
✪ Mercedes has now finished in points for the last 62 GP in a row. It is the 3rd-best run of all-time. The most is 81 by Ferrari then McLaren on 64
✪ Mercedes and Ferrari have been represented on all 4 race podiums so far this season
SPANISH GRAND PRIX
✪ Ferrari has been stuck on 13 Spanish Grand Prix pole positions since 2008
✪ Ferrari has won 1 more Spanish GP (12) than the combined number of Spanish GP wins of Mercedes (2), Red Bull (2) and Williams (7)
✪ 2016 is the 30th anniversary of one of the closest finishes in F1 history. Just 0.014 separated winner Ayrton Senna’s Lotus from the Williams of
runner-up Nigel Mansell after 72 laps at Jerez (0.01? – 1971 Italian GP, 0.011 stage-managed finish to 2002 US GP)
✪ The top 4 on the starting grid last year finished the race in the same order they had started it which was 1 better than the year before when
the top 3 on the starting grid finished 1-2-3 and in the same order in the race (so, last 2 years 1-2-3 on grid finished race in same order, 1-2-3)
✪ Nobody in the history of F1 has scored more World Championship points in Spain than Fernando Alonso 120 (MSC-118, VET-92, HAM-79)
World Drivers’ Championship standings
|
Pos. |
Driver |
Points |
Diff |
|
1 |
Nico Rosberg |
100 |
|
|
2 |
Lewis Hamilton |
57 |
43 |
|
3 |
Kimi Räikkönen |
43 |
57 |
|
4 |
Daniel Ricciardo |
36 |
67 |
|
5 |
Sebastian Vettel |
33 |
67 |
|
6 |
Felipe Massa |
32 |
68 |
|
7 |
Romain Grosjean |
22 |
78 |
|
8 |
Daniil Kvyat |
21 |
79 |
|
9 |
Valtteri Bottas |
19 |
81 |
|
10 |
Max Verstappen |
13 |
87 |
|
11 |
Fernando Alonso |
8 |
92 |
|
12 |
Kevin Magnussen |
6 |
94 |
|
13 |
Nico Hülkenberg |
6 |
94 |
|
14 |
Carlos Sainz, Jr. |
4 |
96 |
|
15 |
Sergio Pérez |
2 |
98 |
|
16 |
Jenson Button |
1 |
99 |
|
17 |
stoffel Vandoorn |
1 |
99 |
|
18 |
Jolyon Palmer |
0 |
|
|
19 |
Marcus Ericsson |
0 |
|
|
20 |
Pascal Wehrlein |
0 |
|
|
21 |
Felipe Nasr |
0 |
|
|
22 |
Esteban Gutiérrez |
0 |
|
|
23 |
Rio Haryanto |
0 |
World Constructors’ Championship standings
|
Pos. |
Constructor |
Points |
Diff |
|
1 |
Mercedes |
157 |
|
|
2 |
Ferrari |
76 |
81 |
|
3 |
Red Bull-TAG Heuer |
57 |
100 |
|
4 |
Williams-Mercedes |
51 |
135 |
|
5 |
Haas-Ferrari |
22 |
135 |
|
6 |
Toro Rosso-Ferrari |
17 |
140 |
|
7 |
McLaren-Honda |
10 |
149 |
|
8 |
Force India-Mercedes |
8 |
149 |
|
9 |
Renault |
6 |
151 |
|
10 |
Sauber-Ferrari |
0 |
|
|
11 |
MRT-Mercedes |
0 |
Drivers penalty points:
|
Driver |
Penalty points |
|
Max Verstappen |
8 |
|
Daniil Kvyat |
5 |
|
Marcus Erricson |
4 |
|
Romain Grosjean |
4 |
|
Nico Hulkenberg |
4 |
|
Valtteri Bottas |
4 |
|
Sebastian Vettel |
3 |
|
Kimi Raikkonen |
3 |
|
Lewis Hamilton |
2 |
|
Fernando Alonso |
2 |
|
Rio Haryanto |
2 |
|
Carlos Sainz Jr. |
2 |
|
Esteban Gutierrez |
2 |
|
Jenson Button |