The Formula 1 circus makes its way to the sunny coasts of Spain this weekend for round six at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
For the first time this season, all teams will be competing on a track they have some experience of in their new machinery following pre-season testing earlier this year.
Last time out in Miami, Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen took the win after starting in third on the grid.
He made an early overtake on the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz on Lap one at the new venue and followed this up with a move on Charles Leclerc for the lead on lap nine.
After a late safety car was deployed - due to McLaren's Lando Norris crashing out - the field bunched up and brought Leclerc right into Verstappen's rearview mirrors.
The Dutchman managed to hold the championship leader off for the final ten laps - although there were a number of close calls - and crossed the line victorious.
This marked the Dutch driver's third win of the season as he secured his place in the battle for this year's championship title with Leclerc.
Joining him on the podium were the two Ferrari men - a familiar sight this season - as Leclerc finished in second and Sainz in third.
The intense fight between Ferrari and Red Bull is sure to be reignited this weekend, so here is everything you need to know.
The track
The track features 16 corners - nine right-handers and seven left-handers, each with varying approach speeds.
It is 4.675 kilometres long with the race taking place across 66 laps with max speeds of 343 km/h.
There are plenty of elevation changes and a favourable 1050m straight and two DRS zones.
The first detection point is located before the entry to Turn 9, with the activation area following along the back straight until the braking zone for Turn 10.
The second is located on the main straight, with the detection zone alongside the entry to the pit lane.
Barcelona is known to be a technically challenging circuit and has provided some entertaining racing in the past.
Unlike some of the tracks on the calendar this year, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is more difficult in terms of finding overtaking opportunities.
There are several different configurations of the circuit that have been used over the years and the most recent change came ahead of the race in 2021 - when Turn 10 was remodelled into a longer, more spacious left-hand turn.
Despite the regular changes, there have been no recent ones made for the 2022 race.
Standings
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc continues to lead the championship standings with 104 points after the Miami Grand Prix last time out.
Max Verstappen is hot on his tail with 85 points in a fast-improving Red Bull machine, as his teammate, Sergio Perez slipped into third in the standings with 66 points.
Mercedes’ George Russell is in 4th heading to Spain with 59 points and is closely followed by the second Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz in fifth with 53.
The second Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton remains in unfamiliar territory, down in sixth with just 36 points so far this season.
Closing out the top ten in the Driver’s standings at this point is McLaren’s Lando Norris in seventh (35), Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas in 8th (30), followed by Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (24), and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen (15) in 9th and 10th respectively.
As for the constructor’s standings, Ferrari is in first with 157 points, followed by Red Bull just six points behind in second.
Mercedes remains in third with 95 points, and McLaren is in fourth with 46.
Schedule
On Friday, May 20, Free Practice One will take place at 1:00 pm followed by FP2 at 4:00 pm.
Then on Saturday, May 21, the final Practice session will kick off at 12:00 pm, followed by Qualifying a few hours later at 3:00 pm.
The big day on Sunday will see lights out at 2:00 pm as teams battle it out across 66 laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Weather
Friday is due to be sunny with a gentle breeze and only a 1-5% chance of rain. Humidity is due to be high at 60%in mid-afternoon and 80 in the morning.
Temperatures will be at around 21 degrees for FP1 and 23C for FP2.
Saturday has a similar outlook, with low wind speeds while temperatures are due to rise by a degree up to 24 for qualifying. Humidity remains high in the mid-60s.
Then on Sunday, temperatures are again set for 24C and with the chance of rain sitting very low at 5%. There will be some gentle breezes of 15mph, while humidity decreased into the low 60s.
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