Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona

A regular test venue, the Circuit de Catalunya, which currently measures 4.655 kilometres, first appeared on the Championship calendar in 1991. The layout demands that drivers are extremely precise. Up until a few years ago, it had no slow corners and was famous for its abrasive surface. Now, things have changed with its double final corner, which is split by a chicane, while the track surface has been improved. Teams and driver know its corners perfectly well and it’s difficult to come up with something to gain an edge, although the venue has often thrown up spectacular races. Scuderia Ferrari has won 12 times in Spain, the first win dating back to 1954, at the Pedralbes circuit with Mike Hawthorn. The Scuderia’s first win at the Catalunya Circuit coincided with Michael Schumacher’s first victory in red, in 1996. The German repeated the feat four more times. Other winners here are Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso.

The final sector
The key to a good lap time is to exit this turn and get onto the straight quickly, for the run down to the first corner, where DRS can be used. It was on this very straight in 1991 that Nigel Mansell overtook Ayrton Senna, after they had raced neck and neck down the straight.

The first two corners
Here, at the start of the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso pulled off a master stroke: starting from 5th on the grid, he managed to pass Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus and then the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. From then on, the Maranello team’s great strategy helped Fernando Alonso score a memorable win.

• Location: Montmelò
• First GP: 1991
• Circuit length: 4.675 km
• Race Distance: 308,424 km
• Laps: 66

FERRARI STATS SINCE 1951

• 12 RACE WINS
• 13 POLE POSITIONS
• 14 FASTEST LAPS
• 38 PODIUMS

Hall of Fame

• Wins

YEAR	DRIVER	MODEL
1954	Hawthorn	553 F1
1974	Lauda	312 B3-74
1981	Villeneuve	126 CK
1990	Prost	F1-90
1996	Schumacher	F310
2001	Schumacher	F2001
2002	Schumacher	F2002
2003	Schumacher	F2003-GA
2004	Schumacher	F2004
2007	Massa	F2007
2008	Raikkonen	F2008
2013	Alonso	F138

• Poles

YEAR	DRIVER	MODEL
1951	Ascari	375 F1
1968	Amon	312 F1-68
1971	Ickx	312 B
1972	Ickx	312 B2
1974	Lauda	312 B3-74
1975	Lauda	312 T
2000	Schumacher	F1-2000
2001	Schumacher	F2001
2003	Schumacher	F2003-GA
2004	Schumacher	F2004
2007	Massa	F2007

• Fastest laps

YEAR	DRIVER	MODEL
1971	Ickx	312 B
1972	Ickx	312 B2
1974	Lauda	312 B3
1979	Villeneuve	312 T4
1987	Berger	F1-87
1996	Schumacher	F310
1999	Schumacher	F399
2001	Schumacher	F2001
2002	Schumacher	F2002
2003	Barrichello	F2003-GA
2004	Schumacher	F2004
2006	Massa	248 F1
2007	Massa	F2007
2008	Raikkonen	F2008