Formula 1 first held the Spanish Grand Prix back in 1951 but the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya became home in 1991, so F1 Oversteer looks at its most successful drivers.
The Montmelo track on the outskirts of Barcelona became the fifth home of the Spanish GP as F1 took the race away from Jerez. But the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is preparing for one of its final times staging the round with F1 moving to the Spanish GP to Madrid in 2026.
Pedralbes was the first home for the Spanish GP as Formula 1 debuted in the country during its second season. Juan Manuel Fangio also took the victory for Alfa Romeo on the streets in the neighbourhood of Barcelona near Camp Nou. But F1 only returned to Pedralbes in 1954.
Instead, F1 visited the Jarama circuit near Madrid off and on from 1968 to 1981 with regular visits to Montjuic in Barcelona in between. Jerez took over staging the Spanish GP in 1986 as F1 returned to the country after four years. Ayrton Senna won the first time F1 visited Jerez.
Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher are the most successful F1 drivers at the Spanish GP
It was Nigel Mansell who stood atop the first Formula 1 podium at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the 1991 Spanish GP, as well. He became a repeat winner of the race after the Briton’s victory in 1987, and even became a repeat winner in Barcelona at the 1992 running.
READ MORE: Five unforgettable Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona including Senna vs Mansell
But no drivers can rival the success that Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have had at the Spanish GP, even before Formula 1 took the race to Barcelona. The pair have secured six victories so far with Schumacher dominating from 1995 to 2004 and Hamilton after 2014.
Hamilton had to wait seven years for his first Spanish GP victory during his first title-winning season with Mercedes. But the Silver Arrows made up for his difficulties to win for McLaren. Only Max Verstappen has also won the Spanish GP since Nico Rosberg took the win in 2015.
Verstappen even secured his first-ever win in Formula 1 at the 2016 Spanish GP on his debut for Red Bull. The team from Milton Keynes dropped Daniil Kvyat mid-season for Verstappen, who graduated from Toro Rosso aged just 18 years and 228 days to fend off Kimi Raikkonen.
The Spanish GP has seen 12 repeat winners all time since 1951
Formula 1 has seen 12 drivers secure multiple Spanish Grand Prix victories since first visiting the European country in 1951. But no drivers have so far come close to rivalling the six wins that Hamilton and Schumacher achieved during their visits to Barcelona for the Spanish GP.
Jackie Stewart was the first F1 driver to win three Spanish Grand Prix, though, and even did so in successive seasons. The three-time F1 champion also took his Matra to the top step of the podium at Montjuic and Jarama in back-to-back years before winning again with Tyrrell.
The Spanish GP has seen seven repeat winners at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
While there have been 12 repeat winners since the first F1 Spanish Grand Prix back in 1951, seven have come since the race moved to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in 1991. Alain Prost secured only the last of his three Grand Prix victories on Spanish soil away from Jerez.
Mansell also won each of Formula 1’s first two visits to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as a Williams driver. But the 1992 champion did not win another Spanish GP following his title-clinching season. His back-to-back wins in Barcelona also added to one win at Jerez in 1987.
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