Why Barcelona is F1's best test track

Barcelona is possibly the teams' favourite test track in Europe at the moment. I love the track. At McLaren, my nickname was the Barcelona Bullet - I was quick there because I knew how the track would evolve during the day. Here is why I think teams keep heading back to the Circuit de Catalunya.

COMBINATION OF CORNERS

One of the main reasons it works so well as a test track is the combination of corners. Modern F1 tracks designed by Hermann Tilke do not feature long, constant-radius corners. They are slow-speed, 90-degree or hairpin turns.

Barcelona is an old track designed originally for motorbikes, so most of the corners have a long radius. You're in a corner for a long time and that helps you feel the car balance, which in turns helps with set-up.

The circuit is also very hard on the tyres and that means it's useful for the tyre supplier to carry out testing there. It's particularly tough on the front-left, especially because of Turn 3.

In a race, you should pace yourself a bit through Turn 3 because you can gain five-hundredths of a second through there just by being flat-out, but you kill the front-left tyre very fast.

In qualifying, you have to attack Turn 3 like there's no tomorrow because you don't need to think about tyre life.

It is a tricky corner, mainly because you can't approach it from a completely clean angle from Turn 2. It's a particularly good corner to set up the aero-balance.

TRACK EVOLUTION

You have to be careful at Barcelona with the wind. From 9am to 11am, that's the period when you have to set a quick time because the atmosphere is cold and the fresh air gives you more downforce and a bit more engine power. During the day, the temperature rises quite steadily and the wind picks up.

The changing conditions, temperature and also the wind level and direction can affect times, so it's not one of the most consistent tracks. You can be fast in the morning, then slower during lunchtime and then the pace picks up last thing in the afternoon. It's a bit tricky to read the track.

Sometimes the car is better at lunchtime but your lap-times are one second slower. I always paid a lot of attention to the wind level and direction because it can destroy Turn 3.

If there is a headwind or tailwind into Turn 2 or braking into Turn 1, it will upset the car. I always asked my engineers to give me the wind level and direction information.

It's the best track I've ever been to for testing. You have to be very precise and complete your programme in a scientific manner. Timing of the day is important.

The race or qualifying is usually at 2pm, so there is no point in having a brilliant set-up on the car between 9am and 11am because there are going to be very different track conditions at 2pm. So it's good to be testing at 2pm, rather than having a lunch break.

THE TEAMS' KNOWLEDGE

We have been testing at Barcelona for so many years now, so the teams, tyre suppliers and engine manufacturers all have a lot of data and reference points. They all want to go back there because there is nothing better than testing against something you know.

There are other good tracks in Spain such as Motorland Aragon where many Le Mans 24 Hours teams test. But because there hasn't been a proper F1 test there, the teams don't want to go because they have nothing to compare against.

I always pushed to accumulate data on other tracks, but teams tell me nowadays that they don't want to experiment because there are so few days of testing during the year.

Because teams have done so much mileage at Barcelona, all the drivers are within a tenth of a second of each other - and then it's about who reads the track and the conditions best.

If F1's bosses don't ease the restriction on testing, which looks unlikely, I think Barcelona will keep the crown as the main test track.

GOOD, CONSISTENT WEATHER

With so little testing, good weather is vitally important as teams look to iron out the kinks ahead of the season. At Barcelona, there is very little rainfall and that makes it attractive for teams.

If you go there for a four-day test, you know there is a 90 per cent possibility you will have three days minimum of good weather.

In my experience, bad conditions have never lasted more than a day, so the consistent weather Barcelona offers is another plus point.

SIMULATOR SIMILARITIES

I have tested in many simulators with many teams and from my experience, the best test track they've had in the simulator, which has been closest to reality, is Barcelona.

It isn't because the graphics are better or the team has done a better job simulating the car at Barcelona because they all go through the same process.

It's just a matter of the track layout and the type of corner, which is medium to high speed, makes it very easy to feel the car even in the simulator and that gives added value to testing at Barcelona.

MY BARCELONA MEMORIES

I've had many great memories of testing there. When I tested for Arrows in 1999, it was my first year in F1 and we were practising a pitstop at 5.59pm, one minute before testing ended.

We were in the last garage and when I pulled away, I suddenly saw this barrier come across the pitlane exit. I hit the brakes, locking all four wheels, and hit the barrier. It was the most embarrassing moment of my career!

I don't know why he pulled that barrier across at 6pm on the dot. He was obviously looking forward to going home!

Then in 2000, I was on the start-finish straight and as I passed the pitlane exit, the front wing collapsed and went under my car. I braked, locked the wheels and ended up in the gravel at Turn 1. I did 300 metres with locked front tyres. It was a huge lock-up and a scary moment.

I didn't hit anything but had the front wing collapsed 100 metres later, I would have suffered a heavy impact.

Fortunately I never had a big shunt at Barcelona. I had many offs and small crashes, but most have been down to failures testing new parts, and that's part of the job because you were accumulating mileage on lots of parts during a session.

Pedro de la Rosa was speaking to Lawrence Barretto

With the start of F1 pre-season testing now just days away, this week's edition of Autosport magazine previews the Barcelona running, with insight from KARUN CHANDHOK, GARY ANDERSON and more.

Our team in the paddock will bring you live and extensive coverage of the pitlane launches and four days of running from Monday morning.