After Lewis Hamilton expanded his championship lead to eight points over Max Verstappen thanks to the victory at the Portuguese GP last weekend, the Dutch driver will try to strike back immediately at the venue that was previously the traditional home of pre-season F1 tests and is the current venue for the Spanish GP.
The battle between Mercedes and Red Bull will continue to be the focus of Spain as the battle for the F1 World Championship intensifies. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, due to its familiarity, will act as a useful reference for all F1 teams testing site in the preseason in recent years.
McLaren remains at the forefront of the midfield battle behind Mercedes and Red Bull after opening a small gap to Ferrari by finishing fourth in the F1 Constructors’ Championship.
The Spanish GP also marks the first time since the Bahrain lap that the 2021 F1 calendar has reverted to its traditional schedule to replace the postponed Australian GP and after the changes to races in Imola and Portimao forced by COVID-19 cancel the Chinese GP.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W11 EQ performance, Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes F1 W11 EQ performance, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16, Lance Stroll, race point RP20, Sergio Perez, race point RP20, the rest of the field at the start
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
2021 schedules for the Spanish Formula 1 GP session
F1 will continue their revised weekend schedule for 2021 with shorter training sessions on Friday. Two free practice hours each lasting 60 minutes on Friday (instead of the previous 90-minute sessions) are followed by an additional practice hour, which also lasts one hour on Saturday morning.
The knockout qualifying format for Q1, Q2 and Q3 will also be maintained on Saturday afternoon to determine the starting line-up for the Spanish GP on Sunday.
F1 has also suspended starting races 10 minutes past the hour for the 2021 season, with all races starting every hour on the hour.
Friday May 7th 2021
Free practice 1: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. CET (11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. local time)
Free practice 2: 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. BST (3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time)
Saturday, May 8, 2021
Free practice 3: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CET (12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. local time)
Qualification: 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. BST (3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time)
Sunday May 9, 2021
Run: 2:00 p.m. CET (3:00 p.m. local time)
How can I see the Spanish GP?
Channel: Sky Sports F1 HD
Channel Numbers – Sky: 406
Channel Numbers – Virgin Media: 506 (Sky Sports F1 HD)
Sky Sports has live and exclusive broadcast rights in the UK. Preparation for the F1 race starts at 12:30 p.m. before the lights go out at 2:00 p.m.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF1000
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
When can I see the highlights?
Channel: Channel 4
Start time: Saturday qualifying 6.30 p.m., Sunday race 6.30 p.m.
Channel 4 has the right to show the Spanish GP highlights of Saturday’s qualifying and the race on Sunday.
Will it be on the radio?
Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2021 F1 season will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra channels.
The coverage of the Spanish GP starts at 1:50 p.m. CET on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, which is available on both DAB radio and the BBC Sounds app.
Will there be fans at the Spanish GP?
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, only 1,000 fans will be allowed to enter the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and only on Sunday 9 May to coincide with the easing of restrictions in the area. Participating fans will be selected at random from the circuit’s membership group. During the Spanish GP, fans are not allowed onto the circuit on any other day.
Weather forecast for the Spanish GP?
Montmelo is set for mostly sunny conditions with some clouds on Friday, but dry and sunny conditions with minimal chance of rain are forecast for the weekend. Highs of 23 degrees Celsius are predicted over the weekend – around four degrees warmer than the hottest conditions at the Portuguese GP.
Win most of the F1 GPs in Spain
Michael sSchumacher: 6 wins (1995, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
Lewis Hamilton: 5 wins (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Mika Hakkinen: 3 wins (1998, 1999, 2000)
Alain Prost: 3 wins (1988, 1990, 1993)
Nigel Mansell: 3 wins (1987, 1991, 1992)
Jackie Stewart: 3 wins (1969, 1970, 1971)
