Spanish Grand Prix 2023 tour report

Spanish Grand Prix 2023 Gullivers Sports Travel

The glorious Spanish sunshine was in full brightness in Barcelona on Friday morning as the city filled up with F1 fans from across the globe. The city of Barcelona has a bit of everything for everyone, sit down by the beach, grab a bike and cycle around the city, the open-top site seeing buses or chill out at one of the many rooftop bars to enjoy a cocktail and some of the exquisite tapas. There’s also nothing quite like enjoying a paella, with a large glass of Sangria and admiring the incredible architecture of Barcelona, especially the magnificent Sagrada Familia.

After everyone had arrived, we hosted our Gullivers Welcome Drinks Event. These evenings are wonderful and allow you to meet our staff and other people travelling with us. You might even find someone that only lives down the road from you, it really can be a small world! The Garden area at the Hotel Olivia Plaza near Las Ramblas was the perfect setting, a beautiful garden surrounded by 12th-century architecture. The wine and conversation were flowing, and a few dance moves were even showcased by the end of the evening. A great way to kick start the weekend!

Spanish Grand Prix 2023 with Gullivers Sports Travel

The following morning there was a buzz on the transfer as we head to the circuit for Qualifying Day. The rain did make a little appearance, but this didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the day. Q1 was quite intense as the threat of the rain did look imminent but it managed to hold off and conditions started to improve and everyone enjoyed an afternoon of qualifying. With Red Bull’s Max Verstappen getting a circuit-record lap. There was less good news for the second Red Bull, with Sergio Perez missing out in P11 after making a mistake on what was due to be his last flying lap. The Mexican ran wide at Turn 5 into the gravel, keeping it out of the barrier as he regrouped for a final push, but the lap proved insufficient.

We headed back on the transfers having had a good day and everyone went out for the evening for dinner plans and maybe a drink or two for some!

On Sunday Race Day had arrived, and the atmosphere amongst the fans was electric. It had been some time since Formula One had raced on a conventional racetrack after five consecutive races on street circuits. Everyone looking forward to some good racing and the chance for some great overtaking, unlike the previous weekend in Monaco, where passing is next to impossible.

There was a great atmosphere from the local fans, a sea of Spanish Flags and Green Aston Martin Alonso shirts painted the circuit. This didn’t mean the Hamilton and Mercedes fans couldn’t be seen or heard. Starting P4 and P12 respectively on the Soft tyre, both Mercedes drivers made progress in the early stages. George vaulted to P7 on the opening circuit, with Lewis moving up to P3 within the first 10 laps. They then used their strong race pace to move up to P2 and P3 just after the halfway point of the Grand Prix. A final stop for another Soft tyre saw Lewis running in a comfortable second, with George managing the gap to Sergio Perez as he occupied P3. Both drivers saw out the final laps to claim the Team’s first double podium finish since Brazil last year.

Despite the efforts from the Mercedes team, from the very first laps of the weekend, it seemed like smooth sailing for the reigning world champion. Verstappen led all three practice sessions, topped qualifying with a circuit-record lap and then led for all 66 laps on Sunday, he set the fastest race lap and gained his 40th career win and won his third Formula One race in succession by winning the Spanish Grand Prix for the third time.

We hopped on the transfers back to the hotels, having enjoyed a great day of racing, and smiles all around, especially for some that had just experienced their first-ever Grand Prix! And just in time for some of us to enjoy a glass of wine and discuss our highlights of the weekend and share some lovely goodbyes to friends that had been made. A thoroughly enjoyable and perfect weekend all around and we can’t wait to come back next year!

Olivia Kosylowicz – Operations Assistant