There is no race track in the world that Formula One drivers are more familiar with than the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, the home of the Spanish Grand Prix 2022. Not only, they race once a year here, but the track is also used for pre-season and in-season testing. It has all the high, medium and low speed chicanes which every driver and every teams will expecting to see how their car is performing on all occasions.
The 2022 season is getting turned now with a championship battle between Charles Leclerc who is just 19 points of Max Verstappen, and a close fight between the mid-field teams. This is one of the very interesting races every F1 fan is excited, as almost all the teams will bring major upgrades every year. Without further ado, here are all you need to know ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix and the team’s upgrades for this race.
KEY INFO
| ROUND | 6 of 23 races |
| CIRCUIT NAME | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya |
| WHEN | 20 – 22 May 2022 |
| RACE TIME | FREE PRACTICE 1 14:00 local / 13:00 BST / 08:00 EDT / 17:30 IST FREE PRACTICE 2 17:00 local / 16:00 BST / 11:00 EDT / 20.30 IST FREE PRACTICE 3 13:00 local / 12:00 BST / 07:00 EDT / 16.30 IST QUALIFYING 16:00 local / 15:00 BST / 10:00 EDT / 19.30 IST RACE 15:00 local / 14:00 BST / 09:00 EDT / 18.30 IST |
| WHERE CAN I WATCH ONLINE | F1 TV Pro (United States) SKY Sports F1 (United Kingdom) Disney Hotstar (India) |
WHAT’S SPECIAL?
Carlos Sainz Jr. and Fernando Alonso have a special weekend because it is their home race. Carlos Sainz, in particular, has never raced in Barcelona in a race-winning car. This time, he’ll be driving a Ferrari that is now competing for the constructors title. As a result, he’ll be hoping to complete P1 in front of his home crowd.
ABOUT THE TRACK
Like I’ve mentioned earlier, this is a familiarized track for every f1 drivers. The circuit’s length is 2.905 miles (4.675 km). This race will cover a total distance of 191.645 miles (308.424 km).
The current Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya layout includes 16 turns and two DRS zones. This Spanish Grand Prix 2022 will feature 66 laps of racing action. The track layout was changed in 2021, with turn 10 being redesigned. The most controversial part of the track will be the turn 14 and 15 where drivers might lose the speed when competing against other drivers. However, if they could clear that, then they reach one of the DRS zones – the best overtaking opportunity, the main straight followed by the turn 1.
WHO ALL BROUGHT UPGRADES TO THEIR CAR?
Below are the changes/upgrades F1 teams brought to their cars for this race weekend.
- Mercedes AMG F1 – Front Wing endplate, Floor, and Rear Brake Winglets
- Red Bull Racing – Wing Flaps and Floor
- Ferrari F1 – Floor, Rear Brake Winglets, and Rear Wing
- McLaren F1 – Front Wing Flaps, Front Suspension, Brake Ducts, Floor, Diffusor, Engine Cover, Cooling Louvres, Rear Wing, and Rear Brake Winglets
- Aston Martin F1 – A photocopy of RB18 🤣 Yes!! They did it again!! – Floor, Sidepod, Bodywork, Cooling Louvres, and Rear Wing
- Haas F1 – Nothing 😎
- AlphaTauri F1 – Rear wing
- Alfa Romeo F1 – Front Wing Endplate & Flaps, Front Suspension, Engine Cover, Floor, Cooling Louvres, Rear Suspension, and Rear Wing
- Alpine F1 – Rear Wing, Front Wing Endplate, and Rear Brake Winglets
- Williams F1 – Front Wing Flaps, Rear Wing, and Rear Brake Winglets
OUR PREDICTIONS
- Race Winner – Charles Leclerc
- Driver of the Week – Charles Leclerc/ Carlos Sainz Jr.
- Surprise Driver of the Week – Daniel Ricciardo
- Best Team of the week – McLaren F1
- Disappointment Team of the Week – Aston Martin F1
There you go!! All you need to know ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix 2022. Stay tuned with us as we’ll be also dropping a post-race blog. Show some love by subscribing and sharing our blogs and stay tuned for future posts from F1 and much more!!