After six months, the new Formula 1 cars are set to return to the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.

The current season in fact began at the Spanish venue, with five days of pre-season testing last January, allowing teams to familiarise themselves with the single-seaters that were completely revolutionised by the current technical regulations.

The teams will head back to Catalonia this weekend for the race weekend that takes its name from the city and the autonomous community, with the national designation this season instead assigned to the new Grand Prix that will be held in Madrid in September. Compared with its original slot on the calendar, the Montmeló race has been postponed by a couple of weeks.

The compounds selected for this round are C2 for the Hard, C3 for the Medium and C4 for the Soft. This is therefore a softer trio than the usual selection for Barcelona. Given the characteristics of the current compounds, the aim is to encourage a greater number of pit stops and also the inclusion of the Hard tyre in race strategies.

The track is one of the most complete on the calendar and is 4.657 kilometres long. As well as the straights, it features 14 corners that are taken at high speeds. The lateral forces exerted on the tyres are high, particularly on the left-hand side, which is more heavily stressed by the nine right-hand corners. The most significant in this respect are Turn 3 and the final two corners, which were reprofiled in 2023 to make the entry onto the pit straight more flowing.

Tyre degradation is predominantly thermal and, as with wear, the front axle is the limiting factor. The asphalt is very abrasive due to the advanced age of the track surface. It should also be taken into account that track temperatures are likely to be higher than those recorded in recent years, given the change in the date of the race.

It will be interesting to assess what upgrades the teams bring this weekend, traditionally one that is rich in developments to the cars. These could also involve the wheel rims, which have a direct impact on heat exchange between the asphalt, the tyres and the braking system. An easy performance benchmark for the teams will be the January tests held at the same circuit.

Pirelli will remain at Montmeló on Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 June for a session of slick tyre testing. Scuderia Ferrari, Aston Martin and Cadillac will take part in the two-day test.

Last year, eighteen drivers on the grid started the race on the Soft tyre, using a mix of new and used sets. The only driver to start from the pit lane, Yuki Tsunoda, opted instead for a set of Mediums. The majority of the central stint was completed on the yellow-marked compound, before switching back to the Soft for the final phase. A Safety Car in the closing laps prompted all drivers to make an additional stop. The Red Bull drivers in total made four pit stops, while the others stopped three times. The only driver to use the Hard tyre during the Grand Prix was Max Verstappen, in his final stint.

The Spanish Grand Prix is staging its fifty-sixth edition as a round of the Formula 1 World Championship. To date, the race has been held at five different circuits since its first edition in 1951: twice at Pedralbes, four times at Montjuïc Park, five at Jerez de la Frontera, nine at Jarama and thirty-five at Barcelona. Two drivers are level for the highest number of victories in the Spanish Grand Prix: Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, both with six wins, two more than Max Verstappen, who stands on four. Ferrari is the most successful constructor with 12 victories, followed by McLaren with nine.