The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, theater of Spanish Grand Prix 2023 – scheduled for the first weekend of June – will be even faster thanks to the latest changes. The restructured Catalan circuit has opted for the removal of the last chicane thus returning to embrace the configuration of the old Montmelò with a double curve to the right before the finish line.
Thanks to the prosperity of motorsport events and also with the economic boom, the whole of Spain, with its support has meant that motorsport has become one of the most followed sports, thanks also to the strong presence of the country in the two most followed categories, MotoGP and Formula 1. In the pilots to which it gave birth but also in the tracks that have been a fixed presence in the for years Schedule. Sainz e Alonso they are the two Spanish drivers in the F1 paddock, so much of the attention is focused on them and their home Grand Prix.
Via the Chicane, is the show back?
Barcelona wants to stand out in the Spanish circuit market and for this reason it has focused on a modernization of the track. What the fans are hoping for with this modification is obviously to rediscover the spectacularity promised and never maintained since the introduction of the variant. Precisely this broken promise led the FIA and the management of the Catalan track to formalize a modification already rumored in the last edition of the GP. FIA Safety Manager Stuart Robertson and Race Director Niels Wittich, as reported motorsport.com, they carried out the inspection giving consent to return to the 4,657km version, also approving the new safety barriers installed outside in the escape routes in the last sector.
The chicane will not disappear completely. In fact, it can be used according to the needs of the other championships that will use the circuit.
In addition to the various works inside the circuit to improve the experience of the public, the other changes that will be made on the track concern the widening of the escape route in curve 1 with 70m of gravel and a new FIA fence to protect turns 1 and 2. All changes aimed at greater safety for both pilots and those who work there.
