Formula One Vault

PRIXVIEW – Barcelona Test

The first of three pre-season tests brings in the start of the regular pattern we see during the season, with a five-day test ‘behind closed doors,’ in Barcelona.  The 2.905-mile circuit is one which drivers know well; up until 2020, this had been the regular testing venue and a staple of the junior formulas since 1990.

Barcelona is a high-speed and downforce circuit where the challenge for the teams is getting the balance right; there is also the added factor of changeable wind conditions. Its conflicting demands makes finding the right set-up challenging, as in one session drivers could complain about oversteer in one part of the circuit but come the next session the car could be struggling with understeer.

Overtaking and following other cars can be difficult because of the long flat-out sections and fast-flowing corners. Only four of the nineteen races at this track between 2001 and 2019 have not been won from pole position. This has been made more difficult over its nearly thirty-five years on the calendar, which has led to criticism that drivers and mechanics are too familiar with Catalunya, reducing the amount of on-track action.

The circuit, despite being criticised for lack of overtaking, is good for testing, featuring all different types of corners and is one that requires high downforce and a bit of straight-line speed. This makes it perfect for assessing the performance of the cars and why teams like coming to the circuit for testing, as well as the warmer conditions.

Along the main straight into the braking zone at Turn One. One of the important factors is the slipstream through the final corner, making aerodynamic balance equally important as speed. Testing is often for us watching is educated guesswork as we try and figure out who has the advantage.

The changing wind direction also makes setting up very difficult. Cars can have massive aerodynamic drag and understeer on one part of the circuit in the morning, but suffer oversteer at the same part of the circuit in the afternoon. This can make qualifying and the race more difficult if teams overreact to the changing conditions, making it possible to win and lose on strategy.

Also, we are still inn winter, and average temperatures will be around half what they will be in Sakhir or for the Grand Prix in six months’ time. Teams will need to bear that in mind as they can be misled by data at this very early stage in testing. The most important thing in this test is figuring out reliably, and system checks, one the most important tests is fuel run out.

But this will be about getting as much of the ‘boring’ tests done, things like the fuel run out test, validation and correlation between wind tunnel and on track, and testing the new power unit, which could result in a lack of running on track. We saw in 2014, when we introduced the last power unit the first test we had poor reliability.

However, teams need to be careful, until we get into qualifying in Melbourne, not to overreact to things, as this is about learning about these cars. Most of the focus of this test will be on understanding the power unit that why we have eight more days of testing. In Barcelona, you need to expect days when there will be breakdowns, lack of running, given this is two regulation changes, power unit and aero, as this is not only about the foundation for this season but the whole five to ten years of the power unit cycle.

Mercedes arguably dominated the cycle with seven drivers, seven constructors and ten engine suppliers with Honda only beating them in 2022 and 2023, which highlights potentially shows us why the power train could be key, at least at the beginning of this new engine cycle. But it’s different because we also have new everything, it’s a marathon over the twelve days of testing, and it will be about piecing the information together with a bit of guesswork, as well as trying to cut through the spin.

For us, this will be a harder test to cover and figure out what is really going on, as it’s ‘behind closed doors,’ meaning no TV coverage, and we have to rely on journalists and press releases from the teams in Barcelona. But you learn over the years how to understand what’s going on, and we, however, won’t get a full picture until qualifying in Melbourne. The reason this is a private test is that the teams want to do the learning in public, but to a degree, they can’t do that, as information does filter out from the journalists about what’s going on.

teams are only permitted to run on three of the five days, giving them nine days of testing before Melbourne. Once one of their cars turns a lap, that will trigger an allocated day no matter if they fail to set another lap after that on that day.

Across the eleven days, as well as FP1/FP2 in Melbourne its about building a picture and learning, although over the tests naturally the teams restrict what they do until FP2 or qualifying. But I imagine they will be unable to draw full conclusions until even after the sprint race in Shanghai, this is a waiting game about building a picture.

Also, the teams need to remember it’s ten degrees cooler on average with a higher risk of rain compared to what we will get in five months for the Grand Prix making the running in Sakhir more relevant for the majority of the races during the season. There have been days in 2019 when no running took place because of snow. In theory, Bahrain is the more stable in terms of what we will see through out this test.

Facts and figures

Test		Formula 1 Catlan Pre-Season Testing 2026
Venue		Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Configuration		2021
Circuit Length		4.657 km (2.894 mi)
Lap record	Race	01:15.743 (Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL39, 2025, F1)
	Qualifying

Fast Facts

• The circuit is renowned as a true test of a car’s aerodynamic efficiency due to its mixture of corners. With a massive pit straight, long, high-speed corners such as Turn 3 and plenty of medium-speed turns, there is plenty for the drivers to sink their teeth into in Spain.
• “The All-Rounder” due to its mix of high-speed and technical sections.
• The most demanding braking point on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is Turn 10, where single-seaters decelerate from 310 km/h to 106 km/h in 2.46 seconds over a distance of 125 meters.
• Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton share the record of most wins for a driver at the Catalunya circuit (6), and Ferrari is the team with the most wins (8).

Event timetable

What we will be looking for

This test will be slightly different to what we have become used to in recent years as one of the biggest headlines has been reliability, in a good way. Given this is not just an aero change but a power unit change as well, I think we are looking towards this being a more power unit test and for the power unit suppliers to figure out in practice how they work. But also the first day is always about system checks.

There will be a lot more checks to do around the power units, data correlation, aerodynamics and tyres as it is about learning and gaining information. Barcelona is perfect, hopefully, if we get stable weather, as it is a high-speed and downforce circuit where the challenge for the teams is getting the balance right. There is also the added factor of changeable wind conditions.

Its conflicting demands make finding the right set-up challenging as in one session drivers could complain about oversteer in one part of the circuit, but come the next session, the car could be struggling with understeer. That makes it difficult to understand that the teams are running these 2026 cars, but the teams and drivers know them incredibly well. Haas said when they launched their biggest learning would be precisely can you control various things – so that’s going to be a lot of what teams will be testing.

Testing has evolved in recent years to be a more accurate guide but in 2014, when we had the last power unit change, in the first test, there were a lot of power unit failures and interruptions and remember in 2014 there were a lot of stoppages, especially in the Barcelona test. Patience is not a word you often hear in sports, but this is not just about this year; it’s about the whole foundation for the regulation cycle.

I think we will see the field be close because they are now all spending roughly at the budget cap, either they are all closer in the two groups we have become used to, or one team manages to pull a huge advantage while there’s another hugely off. We just don’t know, that could also be tactical its harder to make these educated guesses

Its also about bonding, the drivers and their key engineers need to learn how best to work together and communicate as we go into the new season, they have some new things like boost mode and active aero, its as much learning for us as it is the teams. Mercedes are believed to have the advantage with the power unit, but at this stage its to early to say.

We may only get ‘mule cars’, and we are expecting cars to change rapidly before Melbourne, it could be harder to read testing because we have such a huge regulation change and teams will be trying to develop these cars as much as much as possible before the end of FP2 in Melbourne. But they will do the majority of the upgrades, I think in Sakhir’s second test gen they will have the chance to upgrade before the opening weekend.

But this week will not be the most important week of testing that will come as we move to Sakhir…

2025 vs 2024 Race Data

2025 Lap time comparison