10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Spanish Grand Prix

Image source: Mercedes AMG Petronas

Following a three week break to recover from the opening four rounds of the 2014 Formula 1 season, the sport now returns to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix. Here are 10 things you didn’t know about the race:

1. Location, location, location

Image source: Mercedes AMG Petronas

This year’s race will be the 44th running of the Spanish Grand Prix. It has been held at five separate tracks since it debuted on the calendar in 1951, but the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has been its permanent home since 1991.

2. Success for Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver at the Spanish Grand Prix, with six victories. 1996 was undoubtedly the most memorable, as he dominated in atrocious weather conditions to score his first win for Ferrari.

There are only two multiple winners of the race on the current grid. Kimi Raikkonen stood on the top step of the podium in 2005 and 2008, while Fernando Alonso won his home event in 2006 and 2013.

3. Almost too close to call

There have been several incredibly close finishes at the Spanish Grand Prix. In 1981 Gilles Villeneuve held off Jacques Laffite, John Watson, Carlos Reutemann and Elio de Angelis to take the race victory at Jarama, with the top five being separated by just 1.24 seconds.

The 0.014 second gap between Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell five years later at the Jerez circuit was the closest finish ever recorded at the time. The record stood until the controversial 2002 United States Grand Prix.

4. Updates galore

Image source: Red Bull/Getty Images

As the Spanish Grand Prix is the first round on the calendar to take place in Europe, where all 11 teams are based, large aerodynamic and mechanical updates will be taken to Barcelona. This means we could well see a shake-up of the competitive order, although maybe not at the front of the field.

5. Qualifying crucial

Image source: Mercedes AMG Petronas

From the 23 F1 races that have taken place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, 17 have been won from pole position. Four drivers have taken victory after starting from second, while Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso are the only drivers to win from outside of the front row - third (1996) and fifth (2013) respectively.

6. A familiar track

Image source: Ferrari

The venue is the most familiar track for the teams and drivers, as it has been a permanent fixture on the schedule for quite some time and is a popular testing venue; its mix of corners makes it the best barometer of aerodynamic performance. It has a bit of everything, which means that if a car performs well there, it will be fast pretty much everywhere else.

However, for the first time in many years, Formula 1 decided not to return to Barcelona for 2014 pre-season running and instead travelled to Bahrain for the final eight days of winter testing.

7. Tricky to pass

Image source: Pirelli

It is notoriously difficult to overtake at the track, partly due to the lack of a heavy braking zone. The first and 10th corners present the best opportunity, with turn five also being a place to watch out for in the early laps.

Following a few rather processional races, the track was modified in 2007. A new chicane just prior to the final corner was added to try and boost overtaking but it hasn’t proved to be a very successful modification.

8. Testing the tyres

Image source: Pirelli

Tyre wear is often a big problem due to the circuit’s abrasive surface and demanding high-speed corners. The Pirelli rubber will certainly be worked hard this weekend, although the Italian supplier is confident that it can avoid last year's complicated race, which saw most drivers pit four times.

9. Name change

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

'Barcelona' was added to the name of the current Spanish Grand Prix venue in September last year after the signing of a sponsorship deal with Barcelona City Council. Now, the race organisers are looking to go one step further and re-brand it the Barcelona Grand Prix.

"Evidently, the 'Barcelona' brand outsells the 'Spain' brand," circuit boss Salvador Servia recently said.

10. Return of the motor homes

The Spanish Grand Prix will mark the return of the massive team motor homes to the F1 paddock. These impressive and luxurious structures are assembled well before the start of the weekend and are dismantled and packed away on the Sunday and Monday after a race, where they are then transported via lorry (12 in total for McLaren's 'Brand Centre') to either the next race or the team's factory.