Preview: Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix – track guide, start time, weather, how to watch, prediction

By Ben Sully | 13 Jun 2026 00:05, Last updated: 13 Jun 2026 00:19

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli will be aiming for a sixth consecutive race win in Sunday’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old boasts a 66-point lead at the top of the drivers’ standings, while Mercedes lead Ferrari by 79 points in the battle for the constructors’ title.

Race Preview

Can anyone stop Antonelli’s winning run?

Many thought George Russell would be the man to beat after the British driver started the 2026 season with a win in Melbourne.

However, rather than build upon that victory, Russell has seen his young teammate take the drivers’ championship by storm with five consecutive Grand Prix victories.

Russell would be the first to point out that he has experienced his fair share of bad luck this season, including a power unit failure when he was in the lead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

That said, Antonelli has looked far more comfortable in his Mercedes this season and thoroughly deserves to be leading the championship after a string of impressive drives, including a composed showing in Monaco last week.

While Russell’s race unravelled from the point he received a penalty for speeding in the pit lane, Antonelli held off the threat of Lewis Hamilton and expertly dealt with safety car and red flag restarts to win around the streets of Monte Carlo.

The victory saw him become the first Italian to stand on the top step in Monaco since Jarno Trulli won for Renault in 2004.

Hamilton aiming to close gap to Antonelli

Hamilton is still waiting for his first Grand Prix win for Ferrari, but he will head to Barcelona full of confidence after achieving back-to-back second-place finishes in Canada and Monaco.

Those results enabled Hamilton to leapfrog Russell into second place, although a significant 66-point gap separates him from Antonelli in his quest to win an eighth world championship.

In contrast to his Ferrari teammate, Leclerc needs a result to lift his spirits after crashing out of his home race in Monaco.

Leclerc blamed his brakes rather than the crumbling tarmac for his collision with the barrier at the final corner, leaving him 15 points adrift of his teammate in the championship standings.

The 28-year-old will be aiming for his third podium of the season at a venue where he claimed third place in 2025.

Both Ferrari drivers will receive the benefit of a raft of new upgrades, although time will tell whether the improvements made to the SF-26 will help close the gap to Mercedes, who have a sizeable power unit advantage over the Scuderia.

Norris hoping to overcome reliability issues

Meanwhile, reigning world champion Lando Norris will be desperate for a positive weekend in Barcelona after failing to finish the last two races.

Norris retired from the Canadian Grand Prix with a gearbox failure before a power unit issue brought a premature end to his race in Monaco.

As a result, he is already 98 points away from the top of the standings after just six rounds of action.

Track Guide – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

First official F1 Grand Prix: 1991

Circuit Length: 4.657km

Number of laps: 66

Lap record: Oscar Piastri 1:15.743 (2025)

Most race wins: Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton (7)

The Catalunya Grand Prix will be held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this week, rather than the Spanish Grand Prix.

That is because the Spanish Grand Prix will now take place in Madrid, a decision that put Barcelona’s place on the calendar in doubt.

However, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has agreed a contract to host races on a rotational basis with Spa, meaning that the Formula 1 roadshow will not return to this venue until 2028 once the checkered flag is waved on Sunday.

The circuit offers a mix of high and low-speed corners, and it is usually a track that requires drivers to manage overheating and high degradation.

While the drivers will have to manage their tyres on Sunday, there will still be opportunities to make overtakes, especially since the removal of the chicane before the final corner in 2023 has improved the on-track action.

The upcoming Grand Prix represents ten years since Lewis Hamilton collided with his teammate and championship rival Nico Rosberg on the opening lap of the 2016 Grand Prix.

While that may have been a low point, Hamilton shares the record with Michael Schumacher for the joint-most F1 race wins at this venue (7).

In fact, he enjoyed a run of five consecutive victories in Barcelona from 2017 to 2021 before Max Verstappen dominated with three successive wins.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri halted Verstappen’s run when he won last year’s race ahead of Norris.

Barcelona-Catalunya GP schedule

What time does qualifying start for the Barcelona-Catalunya GP?

Qualifying will get underway at 4pm local time, which will be a 3pm start for F1 fans watching in the UK.

What time does the Barcelona-Catalunya GP start?

Sunday’s Grand Prix will start an hour earlier than qualifying at 3pm local time and 2pm BST.

Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weather forecast

Saturday

As per the F1 website, the weather is expected to be hot, dry and sunny this weekend. The temperature could reach a high of 32°C for qualifying, while the track temperatures could hit 54°C. The forecast is for winds to reach 28.8 km/h on Saturday.

Sunday

Sunday could be slightly warmer with the air temperature set to hit 34°C. The track temperatures could peak at around 56.2°C, while wind speeds could reach 36km/h.

How to watch the Barcelona-Catalunya GP in the UK

Sky customers with the required package will be able to watch Sunday’s race on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports F1.

Streaming

The Grand Prix will also be available to watch on Sky Go and the dedicated Sky Sports app. Meanwhile, non-Sky customers can purchase a NOW TV pass, which offers the flexibility to sign up for unlimited access or a day pass.

Highlights

Sky Sports will upload highlights on the Sky Sports F1 YouTube channel and the Sky Sports app.

Channel 4 will also show highlights of the race from 6.30pm on Sunday evening.

We say: Russell to win

While practice results should be treated with caution, Russell showed promise in the two sessions on Friday, topping the timing chart in FP1 before finishing just 0.009 seconds behind Norris in FP2.

Knowing he needs a strong performance for his championship hopes, Russell will be a man on a mission this weekend, and we think he will continue Mercedes’ dominance in 2026 by claiming the win on Sunday.

Written by

Ben Sully