Circuit de Catalunya
Spanish Grand Prix, Catalunya, Spain
If you want to watch top-class Formula One in a city that was made for partying, pick up your Spanish Grand Prix tickets as soon as possible. After the thrills of the race, you’ll be seduced by the eclectic nightlife and unique character of a city that’s unlike anywhere else in Spain.
The 2.88-mile Circuit de Catalunya’s mixture of straights and low and high-speed corners offers a varied, all-round challenge. Drivers must make a fast exit from the final two turns – collectively called New Holland – if they are to speed into the start-finish straight towards the Elf corner, the prime spot for overtaking. A slow chicane was added to the last section of track in 2007 to enhance safety and make racing even more exciting.
This variety of features makes the Circuit de Catalunya popular for testing and, as a result, the Spanish track is perhaps more familiar to F1 teams and drivers than any other. But although they know the twists and turns well, other factors make it difficult to plan a strategy. The open track makes the wind speed and direction a significant factor, and steering can be hard to gauge. There’s also the bumpy track, which wears out tyres and can cause punctures.
It wasn’t until the late 1980s that plans were hatched for a new circuit here in Montmelo, 30 minutes north of Barcelona, but the track has quickly become a favourite. Memorable moments over the years have included Ayrton Senna’s dogfight with Nigel Mansell in 1991 and six-time winner Michael Schumacher’s feat in holding on to second in 1994 with only fifth gear working. In 2008 Heikki Kovalainen flew off the track at nearly 150 mph but decelerated enough before hitting the tyre barrier to emerge unscathed.
A Page & Moy Formula 1 package is a great way to see the race and explore this magnificent city that simply refuses to go to bed. There are 24-hour bars, cafes and restaurants to suit whatever mood you’re in, plus a host of attractions which, like the best things in life, are mostly free.
Las Ramblas is one of the great boulevards, crammed full of shops and a constant hive of activity. It’s also the home of Europe’s most famous market, La Boqueria. Walking around here, you’ll see hanging chorizo sausages, crabs attempting great escapes from fishmongers’ buckets, glamorous female butchers hacking at joints of meat, and vibrant displays of the freshest fruit and vegetables.
The Sagrada Familia cathedral, designed by the architect Antonio Gaudi, is still unfinished over 100 years after work began, but no less spectacular for it. It really is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. In the same imaginative vein is the technicolour fantasia of Park Guell, up on the hills. Full of fairytale buildings, abstract statues and other curiosities, it’s a lovely place to spend an afternoon.
How to book
View our complete list of F1 packages to the Spanish Grand Prix this year.