By Phil Huff
May 10 2007

Honda scored its first podium of its third generation in Formula One at the 2001 Spanish Grand Prix when Jacques Villeneuve finished third, while Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna scored consecutive Honda-powered victories from 1987 to 1989.

Built as part of Barcelona's Olympic development programme, the Circuit de Catalunya is located 20kms north of the Calatan capital on land purchased by the Real Automovil Club de Catalunya. It was the RACC's wish to bring F1 back to Spain's spiritual home of motorsport on a permanent basis and the Circuit de Catalunya has hosted every Spanish GP since it was completed in 1991.

Former Minardi driver Luis Perez Sala advised on the layout of the track and it follows the principles of many modern circuits with a long straight and a number of high-speed corners, making the aerodynamic efficiency of cars particularly important. The nature of the track is such that it "loads" the left front corner of a car particularly heavily, causing understeer problems.

The Circuit de Catalunya hosts many pre-season tests so it is one of the most familiar venues on the F1 calendar. However, its high-speed nature makes it a physically tough challenge for drivers, although by this stage of the season, they will have reached a good level of race fitness. The circuit was modified at the start of this year for safety reasons with a new chicane replacing the two very quick corners at the end of the lap.

For the huge amount of spectators who flock to the circuit on race day, it is a well laid-out circuit with easy access and good viewing positions that give a stadium-style ambience. The 2007 race will see the circuit organisers handing out free breakfasts to those arriving early, as well as video highlights of previous races, and a showing of Disney Pixar's successful 'Cars' film.

With significant gradient changes, and a very long straight, it's hard work for the engines and tyres. Around 58% of the lap is spent on full throttle, meaning the Honda engine will use around 3kg of fuel every single lap. The RA107's of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button will therefore go through just over 200kgs of fuel each for qualifying and the race. There's a very high fuel load penalty at this circuit, with each 10kg adding roughly 0.420s to the lap time.

Last years event went reasonably well for Honda, with both Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello qualifying in the top eight, finishing the race in sixth and seventh respectively. The 2006 race was one to forget, with the team packing up early following their disqualification in San Marino and subsequent race ban.