Winter Testing 2013 Guide

(c) Octane Photographic

After the success of the guest piece on the Australian Grand Prix 2013, a guide to what to do if you are thinking about going as a spectator, Ashley James has written a brilliant and insightful piece on Winter Testing. It is a cheap and cheerful way to enjoy Formula 1 cars, here are his tips for visiting the Circuit de Catalunya winter tests.

Last year (2011) I decided for the first time to travel to an F1 test. Working in the travel industry, the initial thought of it didn’t really faze me, so I thought I would test the water and see how a night in Barcelona would work, so this is my advice when planning an F1 test (or Race!) trip to Barcelona.


1)    Getting to Barcelona – Naturally I fly every time. What’s worth remembering is that you can’t have a full day at the racetrack if you fly on the same morning. Even if you get the first flight out of the UK, it will be a rush to get to the racetrack before lunchtime. Therefore, fly out the day before, Barcelona is a beautiful city and well worth an afternoon if you have the time. I have taken the early and later flights from Luton, and I would say it depends on what you want to do on that free day. If you book 6 months in advance when the testing schedule is announced, then your flight cost could be as low as £50pp (excluding luggage and any added extras).  There a numerous airlines in which to fly, from most airports in the UK, so it's much more accessible than Jerez.

2)    Duration – I have done it for 1 night, mainly due to February being one of the busiest months in the travel industry. What I usually do is fly out the day before the test and spend the night in Barcelona city, before going to the track the next day. You could of course go for the whole duration, which in any case I would still recommend going out the day before the test or race.

3)    Where to stay – I have stayed in the city both times – the Casanova (now a H10 managed hotel, which used to be Rafeal Hoteles), the only drawback being you are a 10-15 walk from Passaig de Gracia station or about 25 minutes Barcelona Sants Station. If you want to look at a short walk in the morning, then I would look at both of these areas (Sants or Passaig de Gracia). You could also stay somewhere near the track either in Montmelo or Granollers, the hotels are cheaper here than in central Barcelona, although don’t expect the same standards. I would say £80 per room per night in the City is fairly typical, and £50 per room per night outside. Remember – you need to be at the track early, and there are only 2 trains per hour – see details below!

4)    Getting to/from the Circuit – The easiest way to get to the circuit is the metro line, which comes from the airport through central Barcelona. From the centre of town it takes about 30 minutes, with about another 30 minutes to the airport. Montmelo is the nearest stop, which in turn is a very good 20 minute walk to the track.  You need to turn right out of the station, and follow the main road out of the village. It’s fairly well signposted, and there is a bus which runs from Montmelo to Granollers. (The bus service is useful if staying nearer the track, or you could hire a car, there is ample car parking). There are full directions on the Circuit de Catalunya website.

If you are like me and are only looking to do one night and would like a full day at the track – you shouldn't reserve a flight home before 2030, and try to book a flight that leaves from Terminal 2 as this is where the metro takes you to. If flying from Terminal 1, there is a shuttle that links the two, but this isn’t quick if you are on a tight schedule.

5)    Tickets – You can reserve you ticket online via the Circuit de Catalunya website, and collect from the track when you arrive. This year the cost was €15 weekday / €20 weekend (per day), you can have a tour of the racetrack for €70 and if you have a race day ticket you can go into the pit lane at lunchtime. A race day ticket allows free admission for all the test days.  There are also hospitality packages which give you a box in the pit lane complex, access to the pits at lunchtime, along with lunch and refreshments starting at around €250.

6)     Viewing can be somewhat variable, they will always have the main grandstand open, as well as one of the grandstands at the end of the main straight. The grandstand at the last chicane was open this year (2012), but I this depends on the day of the week. You will find that the weekends are far more popular than midweek.

I know there are drawbacks to testing, and Peter Windsor is quite right in saying that the whole spectator experience needs to be better promoted and have better facilities. Unless you have a Spanish data connection on your phone you have no idea what is going on!  Yes, you can sense which are the faster and slower cars, but believe me – you can be easily fooled!

I've had a couple of great days in Barcelona, and for anyone who wants to combine a short holiday with an extremely inexpensive way to see F1 cars in action, then I couldn't recommend it highly enough. I'm already looking forward to going in 2013!