Passion. Noise. Emotion. This is Spain.Passion. Noise. Emotion. This is Spain.
2023 season
Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One® Team delivered a double-points finish in the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix as Lance secured P6 and Fernando took P7 in his home race.
The Debrief by Aramco
Both cars finish in the points as Lance and Fernando give their all at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Hear from Fernando, Lance and Team Principal Mike Krack after the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix.
Need to know: Spain
- Sectors
- Turns
- DRS
Fernando Alonso
"The emotions are still high after an amazing result in Monaco. But now we shift our focus to my home race here in Spain.
"I'm looking forward to seeing all of the Spanish and Aston Martin fans out in full force supporting our team. I hope to see lots of green in the grandstands over the weekend. So far, we have scored lots of third places, a second place in Monaco and the next one we need is the top step.
"To do this we have to maximise every part of our weekend and capitalise on any opportunities that may come our way. But I am not obsessed with this and we will enjoy every moment.
"We have a lot of experience of this circuit but it's always a good challenge. It'll be interesting to race again without a chicane at the end of the lap, and hopefully this creates more overtaking opportunities."
Lance Stroll
"It's great to be able to get back on track straight away at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after a challenging weekend in Monaco. It's a track that we're all very familiar with, having spent plenty of time here testing over the years, and one that I enjoy driving.
"After a run of five street circuits, it will be interesting to go to a more traditional racing venue and this will be valuable as we continue to benchmark and develop the AMR23.
"With it being Fernando's home race, I'm sure there will be plenty of green in the grandstands which is always great to see."
Insight and Speed
Unlocking the Lap
The lap begins with a short run to the opening two corners, a right-left hop uphill that can be difficult to take when 20 cars are jostling for position at the start of the race. It's a case of hanging on into Turn Three, where the bravest will try to pass around the outside of this high-speed uphill run. Turn Four sets drivers up for the challenging downhill Turn Five.
Soon, it's flat out through Turn Nine and down the DRS straight towards Turn 10. This is the most demanding corner on the brakes and an area where a late dive down the inside of a rival can prove tempting in an attempt to gain a position.
A short squeeze of the throttle and Turn 11 is up next, immediately leading to the medium-speed right-hander of Turn 12. Turns 13 and 14 now conclude a lap at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as the final right-hander and chicane have been replaced with this pair of flat-out corners that lead onto the long main straight.
Powered by How
How does Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya provide key performance answers?
The combination of track changes, additional Pirelli tyre testing and no pre-season test at Barcelona this year means its use as a 'reference' track is slightly diminished, but Barcelona will still be a useful benchmark.
For one thing, it's the first permanent track we've raced at in 2023 since Bahrain, so is a better indicator for the upcoming European races than the temporary street tracks we've grown accustomed to in recent rounds.
Its position as the first European race of the year, as well as a popular test track, was a historic reason that many teams brought their first major updates to Spain. Teams and drivers have all run thousands of laps over years of visiting the track, so it's as close to a known environment as you can get in the world of F1 racetracks.
A relatively warm and predictable climate means plenty of uninterrupted running, while there are numerous high- and medium- corners to test every aspect of the car's performance – although the final trio of low-speed turns has been replaced by a high-speed pair of corners leading onto the main straight.
Cloud Report
The Spanish Grand Prix hasn't been hit by rain since 1996 but there's always the chance. Our Global Partner NetApp is a global hybrid cloud storage partner, with solutions that perform across a diverse environment allowing us to gain insights on weather-related data as well as telemetry data. Here's how weather can change the conditions this weekend.
Barcelona has mostly occupied a late-May or early-June slot in the calendar since 1991 and this year it's no different. The Mediterranean-influenced climate means that weather is generally dry and this weekend the air temperature should hover around 23 degrees Celsius during the sessions.
There's a small chance of thunderstorms on Friday afternoon and a very slight risk of showers on Saturday – and an even slimmer chance of rain on Sunday afternoon. Those clouds might loom ominously over the track, but precipitation is unlikely.
Wind can catch drivers out and unsettle their cars through high-speed corners, however, and gusts could reach 20km/h during FP2 and the race.
XPerience Points
In Formula One, you’re constantly learning. Every lap, every mile, every second, is an opportunity to further your understanding and, ultimately, discover ways to unlock performance. In partnership with XP Inc., here are some of the key points for the Spanish Grand Prix.
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