Why Is The Spanish GP Such A BAD Track For Racing? 

Knowing F1, it will start to rain... When Hamilton, Bottas and Max make their way to the podium after the race...

Up next: Why is the French GP even worse than the Spanish GP

Seeing Matt's record...he didn't jinx less overtake but probably any chance of rain we had 😂😭😂😭

Two words: preseason testing

Let's turn this place into a weapons testing ground for the Spanish Air Force.

"Any changes you would make?" Yes, remove the thing from the calendar.

"What if.. just hear me out. What if we made the hole track straight?" - Said the chief designer of the Miami circuit

God when I see this track and Yas Marina, I always yell: REMOVE THE FRIKIN CHICANE

The solution would be to bring the softest tires in order to create a mess with at least 2 pit stops and Tyre explosions like in Silverstone

Murphy’s law says the only jinx from this video will be on the weather, thanks, now it definitely won’t rain :D

So I guess we'll be watching a train for 2 hours and not a race xD

Weird thing is its actually a fun track in Sim Racing, especially in GT3 cars

That “hairpinny” definition🤣🤣🤣

I actually love the change at turn 10. That corner was one of the most awkward corners for an F1 car to take. And the new corner is going to be much more satisfying to drive on in real life and the video games

The race on the spanish racetrack is legit THE definition of "sleeper race"

I love how they made every corner on the track sweeping and pretty fast except not turn 14+15. If that would be more like a smooth "s" it would probably work fine...

In a nutshell: Preseason Testing and Aero Limited corners before straights

Honestly I think tracks like Catalunya are less so bad tracks, and more so tracks that highlight the flaws of the aerodynamic regulations, It's why I'm excited for the new regulations. Is Spain a perfect track, no, certainly not, but if you've paid attention to Indycar and NASCAR over the years they've actually suffered the same issues as F1. The Indycar's high aero packages back prior to 2018 were bordering on F1 levels of sophistication, and really what held them back was the weight and power. NASCARs utilized a A-symmetrical design giving a yaw effect aiding in cornering around ovals. Both of these saw massive issues with turbulence as they were taken further and further, and on specific tracks, the issues were highlighted essentially like the Catalunya GP. Particularly with Indycar after the regulation change in 2018 you saw massive improvements in the racing pretty much across the board, so I imagine it will be similar in F1. I do find it kind of funny though how after Indycar decided to move towards ground effect and get rid of complex top aero, and having it seriously benefit the racing, both F1 and NASCAR have new regulations built around their approach towards the aerodynamics of the cars. I guess someone had to be the lab rat.

Alonso already said what they have to do to make Spanish grand prix interesting, „Cut the chicane”

"How many stock videos do you want to use?" Matty: "Yes"

Can't wait to see you guys in a couple days once we've all watched the race

even when there is a thunderstorm the track will stay dry by magic

man, your videos are serious and fun at the same time, unlike other channels who are really serious and sometimes they are so serious that its not fun to watch it anymore. i love how you produce your vids.

They've already changed the weather conditions for Sunday to 'cloudy', so don't expect much.

the modified turn 10 destroys any overtaking chance

Only mazepin could make spanish GP exciting With mazespin and a safety car re start

Love a track explanation video before the race .. hopefully you continue to do this .. keep it up !

Was there an "internet's best reactions" after Portugal?

Bruh everyone getting on social media complaining Portugal was boring because there wasn't a fight at the front (even though there were plenty of battles in the mid field and you're rarely going to have any lead changes outside of a spec series now days). And then we go to Barce where there may be like 5 total passes in the whole race lolololol

F101 is the definition of editing heaven

Hmm... I know it's not safe/possible to do so, but what if the track was run in reverse? That opens up a LOT more overtaking opportunities. Here, let me run through the key points of a lap in reverse for you: • Though the straight is coming off of a chicane - a medium speed one, albeit - it IS long, and if you can make up the ground to get on the inside going into Turn 1, you can all but secure the spot at Turn 2 as it's a chicane there. • Turn 8 also takes place after a straight, only this one is set after a much faster turn with a higher entry speed anyway. You should be able to overtake there if you can get on the inside. • Turn 12 appears to be a place where you can fight back for that position, or if you haven't made the overtake stick at Turn 8. Of course, this is only 'in theory.' • Feeling brave? Turn 14 might be a place where you can pull a move on the outside because of how fast and sweeping it is and leads into a right-hander.

Not only because the track offers no opportunity for racing but also because it was the traditional preseason testing track for so many years, teams and drivers have so much data and knowledge on it, it made optimal setup a trivial matter therefore no surprises could be sprang. Now with the turn 10 change there is no hope. The only way for some spectacle would be tropical kind of storm followed by blistering desert like sunshine and then a tornado. Seriously it's going to be a snooze fest. If i were to make changes to the track then it would alter its shape radically. Connect turn 2 with the middle of turn 3. Connect the new turn 3 into the exit of turn 5, keep the old turn 10 but connect it to the endpoint of turn 12, shorten the straight before turn 13 by 25% and make turn 13 cut across and connect with turn 15. With these changes there will be opportunities all over the track, it will be a shorter track and faster track with very heavy braking zones and done at around 1 minute. Now to keep it longer instead of connecting turn 3 to turn 5 we could make turn 4 hairpinny and connect it 50 meters before turn 5 to make a big change fast speed change of direction before turn 5 which will test drivers and setups, we could see some people going off there.

The change I would make would be changing the circuit to Hockenheim.

I immediately googled the weather to check. Please, please, please rain.

Tittle edit: "bad for 4 tyres racing" For motorcycle racing, this is such a unique track and has given such amazing race over the years

Checking the weather at the end, lol. Thanks for that ray of sunshine (or lack thereof).

I feel sad that my home gp is one of the worse in the calendar

What did you think of Verstappen's overtaking in turn 1!!! That and the tire swap situation made the race a little more enjoyable.

xD that ending is awesome thanks for the info mate. good day

You do know the problem is the fast turn 16, not the turn 14,15 chicane that kills overtaking, right? During high-speed corners, formula 1 cars heavily depend on clean air so their downforce works optimally. Driving behind someone and therefore in his dirty air means you have less downforce so you can't go through turn 16 as quick as the car ahead and that is most of the time a disadvantage you can't make up for with the drs and slipstream on the straight. Having 2 of those high-speed corners only makes the problem worse.

Actually the fast right hander wouldn’t have helped too much due to increased dirty air

Sprinkler systems at each corner

Keep turn 13 as is but smooth out turns 14 and 15 so you have a compromise somewhere between chicane and flat out. Start the radius of 14 almost right after t13. That way they have to brake for 13 but then 14, 15, 16 and the whole front stretch is mostly flat out. Or for a most cost effective option, use the first chicane layout option instead to extend the flat out bit by just a little

The Catalunya Track Paradox. It's wonderful to drive on. It's a pain in the Allerwerteste to watch.

You basically predicted this race. Only one overtake for the lead on track minus the start, and Hamilton only needed 30 lap fresher tires to do so. He couldn't even give Max the nose into T1 with 5-10 lap fresher tires.

“You’ll be wondering whether you’re racing or playing ping pong” Who remembers?

I started my simracing career on this circuit and I love older layout. Last corners make me feel like parabolica orfirst part in Suzuka.

Well it was my first race attended in 2017. Starting on the trainstation in Barcalona where nobody spoke English enough to tell us anything and they did not know what we meant with F1 circuit de catalunya...... So taking the wrong train (same track but this one specifically skipped the right station which meant overshooting the region the tickit was vallid for...... I really do not get why they make it so difficult.). After 1 hour of walking to the circuit we found some 6 other people with the exact same journey....... So we alle shared soke cabs to the actuall circuit. At least they knew where to go. Then on the track a only Spanish speaking person asks for your ticket to point you to the proper seats. (Which apparently were the wrong seats.). The next day we decided to get a more expensive shuttlebus to the track directly from Barcelona. Then it was lights off. Watching from the main straight we could see the cars move out of sight. (The track curves down and to the left out of view. The main straight is not a great viewing position. Verstappen did one corner so my favourite was out of the race. Still Ricciardo did wel I believe. But it became really boring quick. Appart from the tyre changes.

Spain: Has Jerez Also Spain: Uses the Barcelona track for the pinnacle of Motorsport

i think that this track has potential, it only needs a layout change

There are so many small changes that could make a big difference, here are just three: Reprofile t7/t8 into a hairpin Make the run in to t14/15 longer and reprofile the chicane to be easier to overtake at and less clunky (think Monza t1/t2) Lengthen the straight into t4 and t4 could be tightened slightly for a bigger braking zone. At Barcelona it always seems to me that if the a lot of the straights were 50m longer and a lot of the braking zones were 20/30m longer it would be a totally different track to race on and have a lot more overtaking opportunities, which may sound obvious.

My suggestions for changing the track are adjusting the last corner to a much slower 90 degrees turn and adjust the first corner into a replica of the Bahrain first two corners by extending the straight a bit. My other suggestion would be the section after turn 10. Make a longer straight after that corner that puts turn 11 (a new hairpin) beside turn 9. After 11 comes another longer straight to turn 12 that should be more wide to improve overtaking. In both cases: drop the last cichane.

getting us excited for the weekend i see...

I literally fell asleep last Spanish gp I’d remove the chicane at the end of the lap and make turns 1 & 2 more flowing to encourage overtaking at turn 4.

Totally agreed. Nevertheless I really like the circuit and it's layout. I hope the 2022 cars will be much more fun to watch and will allow for more oppertunities with the hopefully minimized aero-loss when following closely. My thinking goes like that: If the cars can follow each other much more closely through even high-speed corners, this should improve their ability of pressuring the opponent into a worse racing line. And since the overtaking car won't have the advantage of even more grip (it must have more grip that the one in front to begin with, otherwise no closing the gap) in the "fresh air" related to the one it passed after the overtake it in the now "less dirtier air" it should be easier for the overtaken car to maybe keep up and start a counter attack in the next corner if the difference in mechanical grip isn't too big.

Fun fact: when the track was designed in the early-1990s, it was supposed to create overtaking opportunities with the longish straight and the sweeping final corners. Then, as aerodynamics became more important, cars couldn't follow each other in the fast corners and overtaking became really hard in the late-1990s. This hasn't really changed and that dreadful chicane probably only made it worse. However, the track produced some interesting races at the beginning of the Pirelli era, when differences in tire wear could overcome the difficulties of passing. Since the 2018 resurfacing tire wear is much lower, which produced fairly processional races. Moreover, in modern Formula 1 overtaking isn't much about braking zones. It's about the DRS zone being long enough, sadly.

After watching the grand prix : So that was a f*cking lie

First

Make turns 1&2 tighter, like the ones in Bahrain. Forget about turns 6,7&8, and make a loong "curved straight" from turn 5 to turn 9. Instead of keeping the chicane, put the second to last corner earlier and use a tighter last corner.

Some changes I would like to make ( just my opinion Extending turn 3 exit /entry turn 4 ( extend by 50-100 m) : Makes turn 4 a braking zone although not that hard like turn , just like les combes Turn 7 to be sharpened to at least a point it is a braking zone and still helping to carry the same speed through turn 9 : Add some braking , making turn 7 less horrible for car following and also can be used for overtaking if side by side Extend turn 10 ( hairpin one ) by at 50 m : Increase the braking needed for it Removes the god awful chicane : pretty self explanatory

Why is Spain a bad track? Answer: There are way too many opportunities for Mazespin to mess up someone’s race...

I want change last slow chicane to fast left, right chicane. Something between the old version and the new version.

I would make some changes. One, eliminate the chicane and replace it with a more open and flowing turn. Two, redesign turn 9 to better flow into the straight that follows. Three, make turn 10 a hard braking zone. Even better: off the schedule outright. Just use for testing only.

I personally love putting laps down on the track in racing games, it just does not work in real life unfortunately

Why the highlight video are private now?

The fact that Matt is an engineer in My Team career in f1 2020 is awesome

Love the weather forecast

My first time watching this channel and I here by give him the stamp of approval all the way from Jamaica 🇯🇲

That gravel trap at the old hairpin looks super deep tho, we should see a few DNFS possibly at lap 1

Even after some tweak in the game files (Drag reduction under slipstream 10% -> 20%) (Downforce reduction under dirty air 20% -> 15%) Overtaking on this track in F1 2020 is still quite difficult.

1. Change turn one to more of a sharp turn like spa 2. Get rid of the turns 14 and 15 3. Bring back turn 10.

I find the stock videos so humiliating and unneccessary, I think this video could be possible without them.

I live very close to the circuit, and despite the 26 degree weather and beautiful sun.. I'm still really hoping for rain haha!

The hint to rain on sunday, subtle😂

Good news that the drivers and the president of the Grand Prix Drivers Association Alexander Wurz wrote to the FIA about the corners 14 and 15 to change back to the old layout. Alexander Wurz is also a safety expert so there a good chance it may change for next year

Preseason testing and the other mayor point I found: if you are by some miracle close enough through 14 and 15 the straight is actually too long so that the overtake is going to be done way before the corner, which equals boring

Is the sausage (or whatever meat it is) processing plant still across from the main straight? I remember year after year of complaints about the smell.

Part of the issue at tracks such as these come from the fact the cars are oversized boats that produce more dirty air than Chinese factories.

I’m sure it’s been mentioned but, pre season testing... Have it at a track that isn’t on the calendar that year, ideally nearer the Med where it’s likely to be warmer at that time of year and rotate through the grade 1 tracks that fit the bill so they don’t have soo much data of it Portimao, Barcelona, Imola, Monza, Mugello, Paul Ricard Or just stay at Barcelona but use another track for the race as there are 4 in Spain, according to wiki...

There are other things we need to address before Barcelona..... They're called Sochi Autodrom, Paul Ricard & Yas Marinas.

Too many medium speed corners, a mediocre middle sector and a woeful final chicane. Those are my main gripes.

Catalunya is a Brilliant Track in other Series Problem is the Massive Cars and Pre-Season Testing

Can’t wait for the race!

I suggest for next year please change the spanish gp circuit please for the best mybe go back to previous lay outs like jerez, jarama or valencia street circuit or use a circuit which havent been used for racing but for testing and that is Ricardo tormo track at valencia which one of these tracks do you want to f1 race at spain because i want them to race at ricardo tormo.

Such a classic track. I've played many F1 games and even in the games it's hard to overtake.

Why don’t they get rid of the first corner chicane and make it a flat out right hander

I want to point out a fact that someone commented on another video. The last chicane actually helps overtaking as a high speed corner before the straight will make overtaking harder

WTF1 you are almost reaching 750k subscribers!

Thanks for jinxing the rain mate! Thanks. A. Lot.

I loved the track until they changed the last corner into that awful chicane. It makes no sense even if it's more safe for Moto GP because they could still use different layouts

I'm asking all the time. For what is that last bad schickane?

The one race I feel like I'm not missing out on after watching qualifying.

There's actually been decent races at this circuit, last year was not bad at all. But the media will keep saying it's a bad track and fans will keep regurgitating that info until they cancel the race in favor of something that's actually boring like the Valencia street circuit.

I saw a post on Instagram: Leclerc in Spain: Spain without the S Mazepin in Spain: Spain without the a

I was about to raise hell seeing the shape of the track in the preview and the description saying Spanish GP; I'm a MotoGP fan and the Spanish GP is held at el Circuito de Jerez and the Catalunya GP is at the Circuito de Barcelona-Catalunya

Wish I saw this earlier

The problem isnt that the track lacks heavy braking zones but that heavy braking zones are required to overtake in the first place. Normally you overtake because you had better pace on your lap allowing you to get into your opponents slipstream, not because you divebomb into a corner. However with todays F1 cars it is impossible to have a significantly better pace than a similar skilled driver in a similar performing car if youre right behind them. I really hope the upcoming seasons can fix that.

I would tighten T1 radius (90º, sochi intensifies), set the second straigt hairpin further away, allowing more straight (also increase runoff area) and replace the chicane with the normal moto gp turn but make it like a last china gp turn, with a bollard on the inside and astroturf on the outside.

Do the race in Jerez or Jarama. Jarama was made by the same guy as Zandvoort and JP GP

Even without the last chicane, it was hard to see overtakes because of the aerodynamic disturbance @@