Spanish Grand Prix

The first race generally considered a Spanish Grand Prix was held in 1913. Rather than the Grand Prix formula of the day, it was a race for touring cars on a 300-kilometre road circuit at Guadarrama, near Madrid; officially named the RACE Grand Prix after the Royal Automobile Club of Spain, it was won by Carlos de Salamanca in a Rolls-Royce. Motor racing had taken place in Spain earlier, most notably the Catalan Cup held annually from 1908 to 1910 on roads around Sitges near Barcelona — won first by Giosuè Giuppone and the next two years by Jules Goux, all driving a Lion-Peugeot — helping to establish a strong Spanish racing tradition. This enthusiasm led to a permanent 2-kilometre oval at Sitges, known as Sitges-Terramar, the site of the first race to officially carry the title Spanish Grand Prix in 1923, won by Albert Divo in a Sunbeam.

After the first race, the Sitges track fell into financial difficulties and the organisers sought another venue. In 1926 the Spanish Grand Prix moved to the 17.749 km (11.029 mi) Circuito Lasarte on the northern coast near Bilbao, home of the San Sebastián Grand Prix. The 1927 race was part of the AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship, but in 1928 and 1929 it ran to sports car regulations. The 1930 sports car race was cancelled due to the economic situation after the Wall Street crash, and the 1931 and 1932 events were announced only to be cancelled amid political and economic difficulties. The race was revived at Lasarte in 1933 with government backing; following the 1935 race Spain descended into civil war and racing stopped. In 1946 racing returned in the form of the Penya Rhin Grand Prix at the Pedralbes street circuit in Barcelona.

Spain did not return to the international calendar until 1951, joining the Formula One championship at the very wide Pedralbes street circuit in Barcelona. Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio won his first world championship at the 1951 event in an Alfa Romeo, taking advantage of the works Ferrari's tyre problems. The race was scheduled for 1952 and 1953 but did not take place for lack of money; in 1954 Briton Mike Hawthorn stopped Mercedes's dominance by winning in a Ferrari. The 1955 race at Pedralbes was scheduled but cancelled after a terrible accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans that killed more than 80 people led to new spectator-safety regulations; it was also cancelled for the subsequent two years owing to funding problems, and the Pedralbes track was never used again for motor racing.

In the 1960s Spain bid to return to international motor racing: the Royal Automobile Club of Spain commissioned a new permanent circuit north of Madrid at Jarama, and the government refurbished the Montjuïc Circuit in Barcelona with safety upgrades. A non-championship Grand Prix at Jarama in 1967 was won by Jim Clark in a Lotus F1 car. Jarama hosted the championship Spanish Grand Prix in 1968, after which it was agreed the race would alternate between the tight, slow Jarama (even-numbered years) and the fast, sweeping Montjuïc (odd-numbered years), Montjuïc holding its first F1 race in 1969 with Jackie Stewart winning. The 1970 race saw Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver involved in a fiery accident, both escaping with burns; Stewart won, and won again in 1971. Niki Lauda won the first of 25 races in 1974. The 1975 event at Montjuïc was marked by tragedy: Armco barriers had not been fastened properly, the drivers protested, and after they relented, double-winner Emerson Fittipaldi retired in protest after one lap. On the 26th lap Rolf Stommelen's car crashed when its rear wing broke off, killing four spectators; the race was stopped on lap 29 and won by Jochen Mass, with only half points awarded.

After the events at Montjuïc, the Spanish Grand Prix was confined to Jarama. In 1976 Briton James Hunt took advantage of Lauda's broken ribs from a tractor accident; he was disqualified for his McLaren being 1.8 inches too wide, but McLaren's appeal succeeded and his points were restored. Mario Andretti dominated 1977 and 1978 in his ground-effect Lotus 78. On the Friday of the 1980 race weekend, FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre announced the Spanish Grand Prix would not count as a championship race; the factory teams Ferrari, Renault, and Alfa Romeo stayed away, and only the independent FOCA constructors competed, with Alan Jones winning in a Williams. In 1981 Gilles Villeneuve held off four better-handling cars in his ill-handling Ferrari to take victory on the twisty circuit, considered one of the greatest drives in all motorsports. The Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama was then dropped after being cancelled in 1982, owing to a narrow track, hot late-June conditions, and small crowds.

An attempt to revive the race on a street circuit at Fuengirola for 1984 and 1985 did not work out, but in 1985 the Mayor of Jerez commissioned a new circuit to promote tourism and sherries. The Circuito Permanente de Jerez, near Seville, was finished for the 1986 championship, which saw a furious battle between Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell, the two cars finishing side by side with Senna winning by 0.014 seconds — one of F1's closest finishes. Mansell won in his Williams in 1987, and Senna won in 1989 from Gerhard Berger and McLaren teammate Alain Prost. The 1990 event was the last Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez: during practice Martin Donnelly's Lotus was destroyed in a high-speed crash and the Briton was ejected and severely injured, never racing in Formula One again. Ferrari finished first and second in the race, with Prost ahead of Mansell.

Work on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, a few kilometres from Barcelona, was supported by the Spanish government, and the event moved there in 1991. Since the 1992 event, advertised as the Grand Prix of the Olympic Games, the race has been held in early season, usually late April or early May. The Williams team dominated the first outings, taking all victories until 1994. Michael Schumacher won a total of six times, including his 1996 victory in heavy rain, his first for Ferrari. Mika Häkkinen took three victories and was on course for a fourth in 2001 before his car failed on the last lap. Since 2003 the race has been well attended thanks to the success of Fernando Alonso, who finished second in 2003 and 2005 before winning from pole in 2006; he also took second in 2010 and 2012, the latter behind the Williams of Pastor Maldonado, who won from pole — the first win and pole for a Venezuelan driver and Williams's first win since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix. Two Spanish drivers have won the Spanish Grand Prix: Carlos de Salamanca in 1913 and Alonso in 2006 and 2013. From 2013 the race was due to alternate with the Valencia Street Circuit, but Valencia dropped out for financial reasons and Catalunya remained the sole host. The 2020 race was postponed from May to August due to COVID-19; the race returned in 2021, with Lewis Hamilton winning after passing Max Verstappen following an additional pit stop. The circuit's layout changed in 2023 to use the layout in use by MotoGP since 2021.

Spain's capital city Madrid will begin hosting the Spanish Grand Prix in 2026 under a contract that runs until 2035. The new circuit, called the Madring, will be a street circuit around the IFEMA Exhibition Centre.

This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.