At a glance
- Length
- 4.657 km
- Turns
- 14
- Lap (pole)
- ≈ 1:12
- First held
- 1991
- Type
- Permanent circuit
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in Montmeló just north of Barcelona, is one of the best-known tracks in Formula 1. Opened in 1991, it has hosted the Spanish Grand Prix for decades and, because it was the sport's traditional pre-season testing venue, it is the circuit teams and drivers know better than any other.
At 4.657 km it is a complete test of a car: a long front straight into heavy braking, the long, loaded Turn 3 right-hander, a technical middle sector, and an abrasive surface that punishes tyres, especially the front-left. Since 2023 Formula 1 has run the layout with the slow final chicane removed, restoring the faster original run onto the main straight.
Speed map
The ribbon runs from violet (slowest) to red (fastest). Barcelona's signature is Turn 3: a long-radius right taken at high speed and high lateral load, where the colour holds in the quick-but-not-flat band for an unusually long time. The fastest stretch is the main straight into Turn 1; the slowest is the Turn 10 La Caixa left.
Speed here is modeled from the track's curvature, not yet from measured telemetry. As a permanent circuit with years of data, Barcelona is a prime candidate to swap in a real pole lap.
Corner by corner
The current layout has 14 corners (the old final chicane was removed for 2023). Tap any marker for the modeled apex speed.
- T1ElfHeavy braking at the end of the main straight; the main passing zone.
- T3RenaultThe long, fast, long-radius right that defines the lap.
- T5SeatRight-hander into the technical middle sector.
- T9CampsaQuick, blind right over a crest.
- T10La CaixaSlow left hairpin; the lap's slowest point.
- T14New HollandFast final right back onto the straight (post-chicane layout).
Watch a lap
At 1x the replay runs to a representative pole pace of about 1 minute 12 seconds (the 2024 pole was 1:11.4). Watch the long hold of speed through Turn 3 and the heavy braking back down for La Caixa.
Where overtakes happen
Overtaking is concentrated into Turn 1 at the end of the DRS-assisted main straight; the slow La Caixa left is a secondary chance. The markers below are illustrative for v0, not real timing data.
Data & how to read it
Speed on this page is a curvature-derived proxy computed from the lap geometry, not measured telemetry. Because Barcelona is a permanent circuit with a long Formula 1 history, a real pole lap can be mapped onto it through the same pipeline that already powers Monaco; until then it runs on the proxy like the newer circuits.