Barcelona-Catalunya GP 2026 — Weekend annex

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya measures 4.657 km (FIA centreline) over 14 corners, using the fast final-sector layout without the old T14-T15 chicane. It is round R07, run as a standard weekend format on 12-14 June. Barcelona has hosted F1 every year since 1991 and — because every team tests here and knows it metre by metre — it is traditionally the season's benchmark venue for car upgrades: packages that work here tend to work everywhere.

Per the FIA Power Unit Information document (Art. B7.2): the detection line sits at 4,047 m of lap distance — between T13 and T14 — and the activation line at 4,271 m, on the final corner heading onto the main straight. A car within 1.0 s of the car ahead at detection can use Overtake mode, which unlocks the more aggressive 'Base - Overtake' MGU-K deployment curve through the main overtaking zones and raises the maximum battery recharge that lap from 8.5 to 9.0 MJ. In free practice and qualifying everyone runs the 'Base - Overtake' curve all the time, so the chase mechanic only matters in the race.

Maximum battery recharge per lap (Art. C5.2.10): 8.5 MJ in the race (9.0 MJ on laps with Overtake active), 7.0 MJ in qualifying, 9.0 MJ in free practice and on out-laps. In sprint/race trim the restrictive 'Alt 1' deployment curve — which cuts electrical power earlier as speed rises — applies through the twisty sectors T1-T5 (820-2,100 m), T7-T9 (2,520-2,850 m) and T10-T12 (3,480-3,750 m), keeping full deployment for the genuine overtaking stretches. When the power-limited state kicks in, the PU may shed power at up to 100 kW/s over a 2,440 m power-limited distance, with reductions of up to 350 kW permitted in defined zones (T1-T2, T10-T12, T13-T14) and MGU-K reduction resets allowed at the exits of T3, T9 and T14. Sectors T2-T3, T9 and T13 carry a raised 260 km/h speed threshold.

Barcelona is the first race after the FIA communicated the results of the opening ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) monitoring window, which measured internal-combustion performance from Australia through Canada. Manufacturers ranked 2-4% adrift of the benchmark earn one extra power-unit upgrade for the season; those more than 4% behind earn two. The individual rankings are confidential, but any extra PU specs unlocked by this process can start appearing from this weekend onward.