Your guide to… Barcelona

13 August 2020

Just seven weeks since the season began, the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship heads to Barcelona for Round 6.

WHEN TO WATCH All times local (GMT +2)

Friday Free Practice: 12:55 – 13:40 Qualifying: 17:00 – 17:30 Press conference: 18:15

Saturday Feature race: 16:45 (37 laps) Press conference: 18:05

Sunday Sprint race: 11:10 (26 laps) Press conference: 12:15

THE STORY SO FAR

With the second triple-header of the season set to conclude this weekend, the 10 races so far have already produced eight different winners. Callum Ilott sensationally grabbed his second victory of the year, and with it the championship lead, in last weekend’s Feature Race. Yuki Tsunoda then notched his maiden F2 win in a dramatic Sprint Race.

Mick Schumacher was quickest during Friday’s Free Practice session, before Ilott became the first repeat pole-sitter of the season with a stunning last lap in Qualifying that saw him leap from P10 to pole on home soil.

Ilott then took an emphatic win on Saturday to regain top spot in the Drivers’ Championship for the first time since the opening round of the campaign. The Briton pitted a lap later than his rivals on track, returning ahead of Christian Lundgaard and Jack Aitken, before methodically working his way back to the front and comfortably taking the chequered flag. Despite worn tyres, Lundgaard held on for second, with Aitken claiming his first podium of the season behind him.

Late drama on Sunday saw Robert Shwartzman, trying to maintain his title challenge, racing PREMA teammate Schumacher for victory. Waiting patiently behind them was Tsunoda, and when the leading pair collided with just two laps to go, the Carlin racer breezed through for his first Formula 2 win. Shwartzman tumbled down the order, but Schumacher managed to hold on for second place. After a disappointing start to the season, Aitken made it back-to-back podiums in third.

THE CHALLENGERS

A 33-point haul from Round 5 sees Ilott (106 pts) retake first place in the Drivers’ Championship. Lundgaard (87) moves up into second, 19 points behind him. Shwartzman (85) slips to third after a difficult weekend, with Nikita Mazepin (71) holding station in fourth place. Louis Delétraz (64) occupies fifth.

UNI-Virtuosi (167 pts) have extended their lead in the Teams’ Championship and have a 21-point gap to PREMA Racing (146) in second place. ART Grand Prix (121) remain in third, with Hitech Grand Prix (98) behind them in. Carlin (80) have moved up into fifth place.

Pirelli’s hard and soft compound tyres will be in use again in Spain, the third time the combination has been used this season. Teams and drivers should also be familiar with the Barcelona circuit, a favourite of many, with a challenging variety of corners providing a test to both man and machine.

FROM THE GRID – FELIPE DRUGOVICH (MP MOTORSPORT)

“I really like the flowing first sector at Barcelona, and the very slow last sector which is really technical. A driver can really make a difference there. It's important to be focused and nail the last sector to get the maximum out of the lap time. I also really like the city. I've been many times to Barcelona, and I love the place. It's a shame that we cannot move around this year.

“Tyre management is really important, especially with the long right-hand corners. Those corners are a pain in the bum when it comes to the tyres. They're really made to suffer, and you must be careful - knowing the right way to push while not using them up. You can lose a lot of time trying to save them, so it's complicated to get right, but it's so important if you're going to keep your tyres alive, especially the left ones.

“It's a good track for overtaking, but you only really have one proper point which is Turn 1. The rest is quite difficult. You have long, fast corners with a lot of turbulence from the car in front, so you lose grip and downforce on the front. It's difficult to follow closely. However, if you start in front there's a big run down to Turn 1, so it's quite easy to be overtaken because of the slipstream. Hopefully, I'll be starting from the front and I'll have to deal with that!

“I don't really know what to expect. I hope I can do a good job in Qualifying, as we've shown we can get the package right. If I can start from the front of the grid we can build from there. We can evolve the car setup and my driving, and then move on from there.”

TYRE TALK – MARIO ISOLA (PIRELLI’S HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING)

“With five rounds complete, the Formula 2 championship is closely-balanced after some great racing so far, with a number of different drivers coming to the fore on the new 18-inch tyres. Barcelona is a demanding circuit where tyre management is always important, and that is likely to be particularly true this year with the higher temperatures that are expected with the change of date.

“With an extra step between the compounds nominated for F2, we should get a continuation of the exciting wheel-to-wheel action we’ve seen between drivers on different strategies. Hard and soft is the same nomination as we made for the most recent Silverstone race, but Barcelona is very different, so it will be interesting to see the comparison.”

Stat pack

The F2 race lap record at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is 1:30.039, set by Nicholas Latifi with DAMS in 2018.
There have been eight different winners from the first 10 races. This already matches the number of different winners in F2 last season. The FIA Formula 2 record for different winners in a season is 10.
With pole position last weekend, Callum Ilott became the first double pole-sitter of the campaign.
Ilott was also the first driver to convert pole position to Feature Race victory this season with his win at Silverstone.
Yuki Tsunoda’s win the Sprint Race saw the Japanese racer become the 25th different victor in the modern era of F2.
Nikita Mazepin is on a run of seven consecutive points finishes.
Jack Aitken scored a double podium in Round 5, joining Mick Schumacher as the second driver to do that this season.
Aitken and Nobuharu Matsushita are the only two drivers on the current grid to have won an F2 race in Barcelona. The pair won the Sprint Race in 2018 and 2017, respectively.
The Barcelona round is a home event for Spanish outfit Campos Racing.
ART Grand Prix have won at least one race every year in Barcelona since the beginning of the modern era of F2.
Every Barcelona Feature Race winner since 2017 has graduated to Formula 1 the following season (2017 Charles Leclerc, 2018 George Russell and 2019 Nicholas Latifi).
Lap 17 of the Sprint Race will be the 2250th lap since FIA Formula 2 began in 2017.