The Circuit de Catalunya will drop the unpopular chicane from the final sector and revert to its previous configuration of two fast corners for this year’s Spanish Grand Prix.
The tight chicane was introduced to slow the progress of cars through the two right-handers at the end of the lap in 2007 and has been used by Formula 1 in testing and races ever since.
The Barcelona circuit has confirmed that this year’s Spanish Grand Prix will revert to the original pre-2007 layout, which will see drivers navigate the original turns 13 and 14, among a raft of modifications to the venue.
The chicane was originally introduced on safety grounds due to limited run-off available on the outside of the fast right kinks. While the chicane proved unpopular with F1 drivers and fans alike since its implementation, Moto GP continued to use the original final sector layout until 2016, when Moto 2 rider Luis Salom was killed in a high-speed accident at turn 13.
The circuit confirmed it will install TecPro barriers on the exit of the two corners to facilitate the revised layout. FIA Formula 1 race director Niels Wittich and FIA head of circuit and rally safety Stuart Robinson approved the layout change with the installation of the new barriers.
The circuit has been homologated both with and without the final chicane, meaning all FIA-sanctioned series have freedom to decide which layout they wish to use.
Among other changes to the circuit ahead of this year’s race, the run-off area on the outside of turn one has been widened, while the tall timing tower at the end of the pit lane has been modernised.
The Spanish Grand Prix will be the eighth round of this year’s championship, being held on Sunday 4th June, the third race of a triple-header following the Emilia-Romagna and Monaco Grands Prix.
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2023 F1 season
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