Formula 1 2016 R05 15 May Spanish GP Race 720p 25
Carla Wykes
The first race generally considered to be a Spanish Grand Prix was held in 1913. Though not run to the Grand Prix formula of the day, instead it was a race for touring cars, taking place on a 300-kilometre road circuit at Guadarrama, near Madrid, on the road to Valladolid.[3][4] It was officially named the RACE Grand Prix[5][6] (after the Royal Automobile Club of Spain) and was won by Carlos de Salamanca with Rolls-Royce.
Spain did not return to the international calendar until 1951, joining the list of races of the Formula One championship at the very wide Pedralbes street circuit in Barcelona. Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio won his first world championship at the 1951 event in an Alfa Romeo while he took advantage of the improved works Ferrari's tire problems. The race was scheduled for the 1952 and 1953 seasons but did not take place due to a lack of money,[12] and in 1954, Briton Mike Hawthorn stopped Mercedes's dominance by winning in a Ferrari. In 1955, the Spanish Grand Prix at Pedralbes was scheduled to take place, but a terrible accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans that killed more than 80 people resulted in regulations governing spectator safety, and the scheduled Spanish Grand Prix (like many others) was cancelled that year and for the subsequent 2 years (also owing to more problems with money to hold the race), and the wide but pedestrian-lined street track at Pedralbes was then never used again for motor racing.
In 1968, Jarama hosted the Spanish Grand Prix, near the beginning of the F1 season. It was agreed, following this event, that the race would alternate between the tight, slow and twisty Jarama and the fast, wide and sweeping Montjuc, and the Montjuc circuit hosted its first Formula One race in 1969, with Briton Jackie Stewart winning. Jarama would get the race in even-numbered years, and Montjuc in odd-numbered years. 1970 was a race that saw Belgian Jacky Ickx and Briton Jackie Oliver get involved in a fiery accident; with Ickx and Oliver escaping with burns. The race was won by Stewart, he won again the next year after holding off 3 more powerful 12-cylinder engined cars. Austrian Niki Lauda won his first of 25 races in 1974. The 1975 event was marked by tragedy. There had been concerns about track safety during practice races, as the Armco barriers surrounding the city streets of the Montjuc circuit had not been fastened down properly. There were a number of protests, and the drivers refused to race. The organizers panicked, and they threatened to lock the cars inside the stadium where they stayed while not being raced. The drivers and teams relented; but double-winner Emerson Fittipaldi retired in protest after a single lap. On the 26th lap of the race, Rolf Stommelen's car crashed when the rear wing broke off, killing four spectators. The race was stopped on the 29th lap and won by Jochen Mass, though only half the points were awarded.
After the tragic events at the dangerously fast and tight space of Montjuc, the Spanish Grand Prix was confined to Jarama. The 1976 race saw Briton James Hunt take advantage of Lauda's broken ribs in a tractor accident; he was then disqualified after his McLaren was found to be 1.8 inches too wide. McLaren appealed the decision, and it was successful; Hunt's points were restored. 1977 and 1978 saw Mario Andretti dominate in his ground-effect Lotus 78. The 1980 race was of note, because on the Friday morning of race weekend, FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre announced the Spanish Grand Prix would not be counted as a championship race. As a result, none of the factory teams (Ferrari, Renault and Alfa Romeo) showed up for the event and only the independent constructors belonging to FOCA competed. The race was won by Alan Jones in a Williams. 1981 was a race that Gilles Villeneuve in his ill-handling Ferrari held off 4 better-handling cars to take victory on the twisty and confined circuit; this is considered one of the greatest drives in all motorsports.[citation needed] But the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama was then also dropped from the racing calendar after being cancelled in 1982 because the organizers seemed more interested in the golf course near the circuit, and because of the narrow track, unpleasantly hot late June conditions, and small crowd at that year's race; it would return in 1986.
Work on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was underway in Montmel, few kilometres from Barcelona, thanks to the support of the Spanish government, and in 1991, the event moved to this new track, where it has remained since. The 1992 event was advertised as the Grand Prix of the Olympic Games. Since that race the race has been held in early season, usually in late April or early May.
The Williams team dominated the first outings there, taking all victories until 1994. Michael Schumacher has won a total of six times, including his 1996 victory in heavy rain, which was his first for Ferrari. Mika Hkkinen took three victories and was on road for fourth in 2001 before his car failed on the last lap.
Since 2003 the race has been well attended thanks to success of Fernando Alonso. Alonso finished second in 2003 and 2005 before taking victory from pole in 2006. Alonso also finished third in 2007, with two further second places in 2010 and 2012, where he finished behind the Williams of Spanish speaking Pastor Maldonado, who won from pole; this was the first win and pole in a Grand Prix for a Venezuelan driver and Williams's first win since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix and the team's first Spanish Grand Prix win and pole since 1997.Two Spanish drivers have won the Spanish Grand Prix; Carlos de Salamanca in 1913 and Alonso in 2006 and 2013, with Spanish speaking Juan Manuel Fangio winning in 1951 as well as Maldonado in 2012.
A pink background indicates an event that was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
A yellow background indicates an event that was part of the pre-war European Championship.
A green background indicates an event that was part of the pre-war World Manufacturers' Championship.
lex Palou Montalbo (born 1 April 1997) is a Spanish racing driver, who raced for Campos Racing in the 2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship.[1] Palou was a stand-in late in the 2017 campaign, debuting at the 2017 Jerez Feature Race, before leaving the series to compete in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.[2]
Palou's career began in karting in 2003, with the Spaniard securing his biggest victory by claiming the WSK Euro Series title in 2012.[3] Palou subsequently made his race car debut in the Euroformula Open Championship in 2014, claiming three race wins en-route to third in the series.[3] That result prompted employers Campos Racing to promote Palou to their GP3 Series squad for 2015, having also finished as runner-up in the Spanish Formula 3 Championship.[3]
Palou's maiden GP3 Series campaign saw him improve throughout the campaign, securing a maiden win at the final round of the season.[3] 2016 was not a strong sophomore season for Palou, however, with the Spaniard only scoring 22 points across the campaign.[3] He duly switched to the All-Japan Formula 3 Championship in 2017, finishing third in that series.[3]
Palou moved to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2018, racing for Hitech GP for a full season.[3] However, after claiming seventh Palou would move away from the European scene, returning to Japan to race in the Super Formula Championship in 2019.[3]
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