After the stop-start opening months of the season and the extreme outlier of Monte Carlo, this weekend’s rebranded Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix signals the beginning of the most important part of the season.
The former host of the Spanish Grand Prix — a title that now belongs to the new event in Madrid that will debut in September — signals the start of a long run of races at traditional, well-known permanent circuits.
It’s from now that we’ll get the true shape of the season.
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Barcelona is a particularly important litmus test. A well-rounded circuit with a variety of corner speeds as well as long straights, a car’s aerodynamics and engine power will both be put to the test. It’s why it was such a preseason testing staple before warmer Bahrain became the preference.
Early in the European season and usually the scene of big upgrades, Barcelona is typically the first best litmus test of the season.
Still true today, there’ll be nowhere to hide at the decades-old Spanish track.
Red Bull arrive with upgraded engine | 01:02
CAN McLAREN GET BACK TO THE FRONT?
McLaren dominated the Spanish Grand Prix last year, with Oscar Piastri charging to victory ahead of Lando Norris to extend his title lead.
It was a display of the McLaren car’s mighty potential in Piastri’s hands in the first half of the year — and of Spain doing its job as a benchmarking circuit.
This year, however, it arrives with its tail between its legs, with underperformance and unreliability combining to leave it 126 points off the title lead
“I think you can gain the points back from reliability that we’re missing but you can’t gain the points back from the performance that we’re missing,” Piastri said.
“Definitely both areas are costly, but at the moment we would be a little bit further ahead but we wouldn’t be winning — it’s not like we’ve cost ourselves any wins or anything like that from reliability.
“We clearly need to improve the performance of the car, but hopefully once we’re in a position to be able to do that, obviously we have to be able to finish the races as well. Both are costly, but the performance is the bigger focus at the moment.”
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But the results from the last two races, where the team returned just 12 points across both grands prix, are likely outliers related to weather and track conditions. Two races ago McLaren threatened to win in Miami, where the weather was warm and the circuit layout was somewhat more conventional.
“Certainly has been up and down, that’s for sure,” Piastri said. “Obviously Monaco was tough last week … [but] even Canada until Sunday certainly wasn’t bad.
“Hopefully we’ve learned a few things about some of the conditions we’ve been in, some of the corner types, and hopefully it’s a bit track specific, but we’ll find out this weekend.
“It’ll be a good test on a more normal circuit he to see where everyone stacks up.”
The clock is ticking on McLaren’s title comeback. Spain will tell us if there’s any hope left.
Brundle’s awkward Kardashian grid moment | 00:34
WILL THERE BE A TWIST IN THE MERCEDES NARRATIVE?
A lack of speed has put George Russell behind in the championship, but it’s a lack of luck that’s left him a whopping 68 points — almost three clear race wins — behind title leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Not that he’s been dwelling too much on it.
“I’ve sat down and thought about this season as a whole,” he said, per ESPN. “If it was just a clean season, not a season that I had bad luck, but just a neutral season, I think I’d have had three more podiums to my name and it would have been five out of six races on the podium, maybe a couple of wins, two out of three sprint race victories.”
Of course bad luck has played a role in Russell’s deficit, but as out analysis this week showed, it doesn’t explain all of it.
Even without the costly Monaco penalty, and other misfortune, Russell has been second-best to the Italian for most of the season.
In Monaco, after a poor qualifying performance, he admitted for the first time that his driving style wasn’t working with the 2026 car, but this week he said that he was working on ignoring the psychological pressure of his massive deficit.
“The pressure feels off, to be honest,” he said. “I’m going to try and enjoy every race, not even think about a championship — it’s so far out of reach right now.
“Enjoy the races and have fun, drive fast, and do what I know I’m capable of doing and I’ve done that for my whole career in Formula 1. That’s what I’m excited for.“
His no-pressure strategy is as much for his benefit as it is — he hopes — to Antonelli’s detriment, with the Englishman hoping to turn the blowtorch onto his younger teammate in the hope he’ll crack.
“It’s not the first time we’ve seen mind games,” Antonelli told Autosport. “People always try to shift the pressure onto their opponent, whether it’s an external rival or a teammate.
“It doesn’t make much difference. Fortunately those things don’t really affect me.”
Mercedes will certainly be hoping not. Not only will it remain braced for another Canada-style duel, but it’s been 10 years since the Barcelona circuit saw the last big blow-up between battling Mercedes title-contenders, when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg wiped each other out on the first lap of the race.
The gap isn’t indicative of the true performance gulf, but it will be indicative of Russell’s desperation to hit back — and Antonelli’s eagerness to stamp his authority on the championship and his team.
‘Engine sounded really awful’ Verstappen | 02:04
FERRARI’S BATTLE OF THE BRAKES
Charles Leclerc’s decision to scorch the earth following his race-ending Monaco crash had a bit more behind it than just frustration over his “f***ing brakes”.
His Ferrari brakes have been giving him trouble for weeks but were especially tricky in Canada and Monaco, two brake-dependent venues.
Leclerc alluded after the race that Ferrari had a solution lined up for Spain and that it would take him closer in set-up to what Lewis Hamilton was running, the Briton having been strongest while Leclerc struggled, taking home two second-place finishes from the last two grands prix.
It subsequently transpired that that means he will ditch his Brembo brake discs in favour of a set from Carbon Industrie.
It’s significant for Ferrari, which has enjoyed more than half a century partnered with its Italian brake supplier, though Brembo will still supply the rest of the braking system, including the callipers.
More interesting, however, is that Hamilton has been using Carbon Industrie since Japan, having lobbied all of last year for the change — and that Leclerc had the chance too but didn’t take up the offer.
“It’s down to driver preference and feel,“ Hamilton said, per Autosport. ”Both of us tested the option around racing and Charles didn’t want it in the end; he chose the one he’s on and now he’s changed his mind.
“It doesn’t make any difference to me. That’s, again, not a single factor that’s made the difference, as I said, and my goal is to put input that elevates the whole team, and Charles is a part of that.”
Leclerc, though, contended that “it was a decision that we made as a team to have the cars split”, suggesting it may not have been his choice to stick with Brembo for the last three grands prix.
The difference between discs isn’t performance per se but rather about how the braking material responds to each driver’s driving style. Hamilton, who has used Carbon Industrie brakes for his entire career, is naturally attuned to what reportedly is a stronger initial bite, whereas Brembo is brakes are designed for more consistent performance.
“I still have to test it and to see how much it will change,” Leclerc added. “I don’t expect a revolution.”
Combined with upgrades coming to the Ferrari this weekend, it sets up an interesting test for where Hamilton and Leclerc are relative to each other — as well as where Ferrari is relative to the front.
Selfless Lando sacrifices race for Oscar | 00:59
WHERE IS RED BULL RACING, EXACTLY?
Of all the frontrunning teams, Red Bull Racing has been the hardest to place in the pecking order.
It started in reasonable shape in Australia but then disappeared in China in Japan.
Monaco and Canada were tentative steps forward, and then Verstappen contended for pole on Monaco but couldn’t complete the race. Isack Hadjar finished on the podium but was well off Antonelli’s pace.
The car has looked extremely difficult to get into a competitive window this season, and despite the FIA declaring the Red Bull motor to be the most powerful in the sport, it’s clearly also been adrift of Mercedes down the straights.
Not helping the picture is the variety of circuits in recent rounds, with Canada and Monaco two outliers at opposite ends of the spectrum. Miami, a hot street track with a peculiar tarmac, also does little to inform the competitive picture.
Spain, however, will put the team to the test.
“It’s still a little bit of an unknown,” Verstappen admitted. “We had some issues before the last three races with high-speed cornering. I hope we have fixed a few of these things, but I’m not sure by how much, so we have to wait and see how our car is going to perform here.”
With the mercury hovering around 30°C and forecast to rise into the mid-30s by Sunday, tyre usage is also going to play a role, having been a relatively minor talking point for much of the season to date.
“Normally then you have quite high degradation around here, so it will be interesting to see all of that evolve and see where we are at,” he said.
It was 10 years ago that Verstappen clocked his maiden victory in Barcelona, having entered the mix for the win after the two Mercedes drivers crashed out on the first lap.
He’ll likely need some assistance if he’s to contend for victory again this year. What’s not clear is just how much.
‘Something is going to explode!’ | 00:55
IS THIS ALONSO’S LAST RACE IN BARCELONA?
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is the scene of Fernando Alonso’s last grand prix victory. It was 13 years ago.
Now it could be the circuit at which he first teased his Formula 1 retirement.
Ahead of the weekend, the out-of-contract two-time champion admitted he was treating the year like a quiet farewell tour as he weighs up his future.
“It’s going to be a special weekend, probably my last Barcelona race in Formula 1,” he said. “So I want to say thanks to everyone.
“I will try to enjoy the weekend. I will not be competitive, and I will not be too long in the car in qualifying, and in the race hopefully yes, but not at the pace that we all want. But I want everyone to still enjoy the weekend.”
Alonso will be 45 in July but has been mixed in his messaging about his future. Though he had previously suggested this could be his final contract, he has also said he wanted to leave Aston Martin in competitive shape, and earlier this season he hinted that his heart was set on continuing.
“I don’t have anything in mind,” he said. “After summer I will take the decision to continue or not, but I consider every race that I go this year that potentially could be my last time.
“Barcelona there is a little bit more of that chance, as it’s not happening next year as well.
“For me the hardest thing is not to win races and not to be competitive. If it’s the last or not the last, it’s not affecting too much; I’m in peace with my career and with my life.”
Aston Martin’s first point last week came at the end of a race of high attrition and despite Monte Carlo being the team’s least competitive weekend of the season.
Chief trackside officer Mike Krack expected more pain this weekend — so much so that his mind was turning to protecting the morale of his drivers.
“It will be very tough in Barcelona,” he said, per Crash. “Barcelona is normally a reality check for your pace.
“I think for the drivers will be the toughest, because we know that Barcelona is very hard on your package and there will be not so much they can do about it, so I think we need to protect them maybe a little bit from getting too much negative out of this, because there’s nothing they can do about it.”
Not exactly the sort of homecoming Alonso would have preferred for what could be his final salute in Barcelona.