The Barcelona circuit’s Turn 10 hairpin will be reprofiled for 2021 in a way that appears to remove a rare overtaking opportunity at Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix venue.
In January the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will reshape the entry to the ‘stadium’ section of the track, opening up the tight hairpin significantly into a faster sweep.
It is intended as a compromise between the so-called ‘inner variant’ of Turn 10 and 11 and the traditional design that MotoGP used until joining F1 in using the tighter layout.
To achieve that, it appears the track will be redirected so the corner sits between the current layout and the original.
The circuit says this is to improve the safety conditions at both car and bike races, as it will result in a larger gravel run-off area by eliminating the unused bit of track on the outside, and is a project that has been conducted with governing bodies the FIA and the FIM.
Barcelona claimed the change will “allow for an extension of the run-off area at the turn, thus increasing the safety distance and it will also lead to a return to the origins of the layout”.
However, while the braking distances associated with bike racing mean this may well remain a viable overtaking spot in MotoGP, in F1 terms it is likely to mean the removal of one of only two clear passing opportunities.
F1’s Spanish GP does not produce much overtaking as cars cannot stay close enough through the Barcelona circuit’s mix of corners before the two straights.
The drag-reduction system is powerful enough to bring cars into contention into Turn 1 but the braking zone there is too short as the corner has a fast entry.
Though the Turn 10 hairpin was hardly the scene of constant action, the fast run through Campsa and DRS zone on the back straight into a heavy braking area was at least a potential passing place.
The new corner profile will shorten the braking zone and make the entry speed higher, which will be an overtaking deterrent in the current-generation cars.
