A lap of Barcelona with Alex Wurz

Round four of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship takes the F1 circus to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. The 66-lap race is held at the 4.655km Circuit de Catalunya and marks the start of Formula One’s European season. Alex Wurz takes us with him for a lap on the Spanish track.

Alex Wurz: “Over the years, the Circuit de Catalunya has lost some of its edge because it’s no longer the high speed challenge that it once was. All of the fast corners have gone, except Turn 3, which is still big G-force, very fast and very demanding.

“Of course, the track still remains an interesting place to drive. The key to a quick lap is to find a good rhythm and to make sure that your car works well in slow-speed corners, which is most of sector three. In days gone by, Barcelona required a high-speed car set-up, whereas now it needs a slow-speed set up, and I think that’s disappointing.

“You approach Turn 1 at about 310kph (193mph). You stamp on the brakes and shift down to second gear for Turn 1, before taking Turn 2 in third gear. Next comes one of the best corners on the lap, Turn 3, before you’re again braking hard for the hairpin at Turn 4. Another hairpin follows, where it’s easy to lock up a wheel on the downhill approach, and you then have two very interesting corners.

“Turn 6 is medium-speed and requires you to use a lot of kerb on the exit, and Turn 7 is a right-hander taken at about 215kph (133mph). It’s important to carry a lot of speed through Turn 7 because it leads you onto the back straight, where you’re back up to 300kph (186mph). The last part of the lap is slow and it includes the new chicane before the final corner. Again, it’s very important to have a good exit because you carry that speed all the way down the pit straight.

“The track was resurfaced a couple of years ago, so the infamous abrasive asphalt is gone. As a result, the race strategies are more or less the same as at other races because tyre degradation is quite flat.

“I advise anyone visiting the race to check out Barcelona because it’s a cool city. I love it. The Catalan people are very open and friendly, and Barcelona has a great culture for art and food. If you have kids, take them to the Natural Museum - they’ll love it.”