Brembo analysis of Spanish GP: slightly demanding Barcelona circuit, but watch out for turn 10. Brembo analysis of Circuit de Catalunya ahead of the Spanish GP.

This weekend, Formula 1 will hold the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. Sunday’s race will be the first of three consecutive events that will then take the teams to Austria and England for the rounds in Spielberg and Silverstone, respectively. Here are five interesting facts about the Spanish stage.

Curiosities of the Grand Prix

Brembo data
According to Brembo technicians, the 4.657-meter-long Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya falls into the category of circuits that are slightly demanding on the brakes. On a scale from 1 to 5, it earned a difficulty index of 2 because drivers brake for eight and a half seconds per lap. Only 2 of the 6 braking sections require brake use for at least 1.4 seconds, and deceleration never reaches 5 g.

Formula 1 VS Moto GP
Last month, MotoGP raced at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya: the lap times of the bikes, compared to those of a Formula 1 car, are over 25 seconds longer. However, the use of brakes is significantly higher: 32 seconds per lap for the bikes, about 32 percent of the entire GP, compared to 12 percent for Formula 1.
On this track, MotoGP needs brakes in 10 turns, compared to 6 for Formula 1. Despite both categories using Brembo carbon discs, the differences in individual braking are substantial: at turn 1, for example, the bikes lose 239 km/h over 292 meters, or about 1 km/h in 1.22 meters, while the single-seaters reduce their speed by 143 km/h over 81 meters, or 1 km/h in 57 centimeters, less than half the distance of MotoGP.

The challenge of turn 10
The hardest turn on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the braking system is turn 10, where the single-seaters go from 303 km/h to 116 km/h in 2.08 seconds over 102 meters. At this point on the track, the effort by the drivers is considerable given the 4.9 g deceleration they are subjected to, along with the 177 kg load they must exert on the brake pedal. The braking power is 2,499 kW.

The Spaniards in Formula 1
Despite having 13 drivers who have raced at least one GP, Spain had to wait until 2003 to celebrate its first victory in Formula 1, achieved by Fernando Alonso, who has won 32 GPs: 17 with Renault, 11 with Ferrari, and 4 with McLaren. The only other Spaniard to have won in F1 is Carlos Sainz, with 3 victories with Ferrari, although never more than one per season, and never at his home race.

Change of location from 2026
Starting in 2026, Formula 1 will return to race in Madrid on a newly constructed track that will host up to 110,000 people per day. Unlike other shorter renewals, the agreement provides for the holding of 10 consecutive GPs. However, as Stefano Domenicali has clarified, this does not mean the exclusion of Barcelona from the calendar, especially since in 2023 the Formula 1 audience in Spain was 77 million people, with an annual growth of 84 percent.