The Spanish GP has yielded some unforgettable moments since Formula 1’s first visit to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in 1991, so here are five of its most iconic races.
F1 wanted a new home for the Spanish Grand Prix following the 1990 season after five years at Jerez as the track often struggled to draw large attendances. The series has visited Spain since 1951 and decided to return to Barcelona as the city got set to host the 1992 Olympics.
The Montjuic mountain in Barcelona had staged four Spanish Grand Prix from 1969 through 1975 in rotation with a race at Jarama. Pedralbes even staged F1’s first race in Spain in 1951, plus 1954. But the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya gave F1 a true home for the Spanish GP.
Unforgettable moments have even scattered Formula 1’s rounds at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya since the track’s first Spanish GP. But the series will take the event to Madrid from the 2026 season after F1 secured a deal to race around the IFEMA exhibition centre in 2024.
So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer takes a look at the five most iconic Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and its most unforgettable moments since the 1991 race.
Sparks flew inches between Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna at the 1991 Spanish GP
Sparks flew to create a slice of instant Formula 1 history as Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell fought to win the first Spanish GP at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in 1991. The drivers ran mere inches apart whilst reaching 190 mph as they charged down the long, pit straight.
Neither driver wanted to hand the other an inch after changeable conditions ensured they faced a fight for victory. Rain had drenched the track on the morning of the race and it was still slippery when the Spanish GP began and Michael Schumacher snuck ahead of Mansell.
Senna could not match the pace of pole-sitter Gerhard Berger in the early laps and failed to shake off the chasing pack of Schumacher, Mansell and Jean Alesi. Eventually, Mansell fired his way past Senna after claiming the inside line for Turn 1 before the rivals hit their brakes.
Yet Senna regained track position over Mansell after pitting for slick tyres, just to spin at the final corner soon after. Mansell relished the drying conditions to chase down Berger for the lead on Lap 21. The Briton won by 11 seconds to Alain Prost, while Senna recovered to fifth.
Michael Schumacher mesmerised in the wet to win with Ferrari at the 1996 Spanish GP
Schumacher showed the world why he was a two-time Formula 1 champion and why Ferrari sought his arrival from Benetton at the 1996 Spanish GP. The German had won in Barcelona the year prior but put on a true show in torrential rain to win by 45 seconds ahead of Alesi.
Third place was all that Schumacher had managed in qualifying but Williams duo Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve could not match the German in the race. Even a clutch issue causing Schumacher to lose further places off the grid would do little but delay his dominant victory.
No driver could hold Schumacher back once he found a groove and the Ferrari icon took the lead of the Spanish GP on Lap 11. At times, the German – and eventually seven-time driver’s champion – was lapping five seconds faster than anyone else to take his first win for Ferrari.
Only Alesi and Villeneuve finished the 1991 Spanish GP on the lead lap to join Schumacher on the podium, too. Just six drivers even took the chequered flag, with 1996 champion Hill spinning off on Lap 10 after clouting the pit wall with the pole sitter’s third spin of the race.
Heartbreak for Mika Hakkinen on the final lap of the 2001 Spanish GP
McLaren took Mika Hakkinen to the Formula 1 drivers’ title in 1998 and 1999 during seasons in which the Flying Finn also won at the Spanish GP. He also won at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in 2000 and seemed set to secure four victories in a row during the 2001 running.
But heartbreak awaited Hakkinen on the final lap of the Spanish GP in 2001 as his Mercedes engine blew. A puff of white smoke marked the end of his race after opening a 40-second lead over Schumacher. His MP4-16 eventually rolled to a stop at Turn 7, five from the finish.
Schumacher swept through to take the first of what proved to be a run of four consecutive Spanish GP victories. But the Ferrari driver showed his class after the race by admitting that Hakkinen deserved to have won the 2001 Spanish GP, in which the Finn was classified in P9.
Pastor Maldonado won his only F1 race at the 2012 Spanish GP with Williams
Williams are one of Formula 1’s most successful teams after winning nine constructor’s titles and seven drivers’ championships. The Grove natives have even claimed 114 race wins since Frank Williams debuted the team under his name at the 1977 Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama.
But Williams have won just one race since Juan Pablo Montoya sealed the 2004 Brazilian GP thanks to Pastor Maldonado topping the podium at the Spanish GP in 2012. The Venezuelan held off home hero Fernando Alonso to win one of the most unforgettable Spanish GPs yet.
Maldonado was seldom more than a midfield driver and was often embroiled in collisions in Formula 1. But the erratic racer had the best week of his career at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to claim pole position – albeit after Lewis Hamilton was excluded from qualifying.
The stewards stripped Hamilton of pole after his McLaren ran out of fuel during his in-lap in Q3. Maldonado took full advantage of the P1 start to vie with Alonso, who briefly inherited the lead of the 2012 Spanish GP but lost out as Williams’ strategy jumped the Ferrari driver.
It was by far the finest hour of Maldonado’s Formula 1 career but the drama was not over for Williams. A fire erupted in the team’s garage following the 2012 Spanish GP whilst they celebrated his shock victory. Maldonado never stood on another F1 podium in 96 entries.
Max Verstappen won on his debut for Red Bull at the 2016 Spanish GP
Red Bull sprung a surprise ahead of the 2016 Spanish GP by confirming that Max Verstappen would step up from their junior team, Toro Rosso, to replace Daniil Kvyat. The Milton Keynes team demoted the Russian Sebastian Vettel had called him a ‘torpedo’ for his erratic driving.
Kvyat failed to impress Red Bull with incidents in the Russian GP and the Chinese GP to start his 2016 campaign. But it took Verstappen just one race to become the youngest Grand Prix winner in Formula 1 history by taking the 2016 Spanish GP at just 18 years and 228 days old.
The 2016 Spanish GP was already one of the most unforgettable races F1 had staged at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after Hamilton and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg made contact on the opening lap. Their collision into Turn 4 also retired both drivers on the spot.
Verstappen took full advantage of the Mercedes drivers’ colliding whilst fighting for the lead after Rosberg selected the wrong engine mode and ran considerably slower than Hamilton. The Dutchman fended off Kimi Raikkonen to win after Daniel Ricciardo made a late pit stop.
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