The administrations want to prevent Formula 1 from leaving Montmeló and everything adds up. With a contract until 2026, both the Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat are going all out, as evidenced by the recent signing of Fira de Barcelona to add new activities to the facilities, such as concerts and fairs. Now, the automotive spectacle they are going to organize at the gates of the next race, scheduled between June 21 and 23 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, is added. Paseo de Gràcia will become a circuit and F1 cars will race on its asphalt on the afternoon of next Wednesday, June 19. "We will make the city vibrate," remarks the Sports Councilor, David Escudé, "we want to popularize a sport that residents have difficulty going to see and, therefore, we will bring it closer."
With the pits that have been seen so many times on television located on Ronda Universitat at the height of Plaza Catalunya, the cars will go up and down the lower part of Paseo de Gràcia, until they reach Aragó street, where traffic will not be cut off. In Casa Ametller, a VIP area will be installed to follow the exhibition. It will be a closed and short circuit where Barcelonians, and surely also tourists, will be able to see the vehicles up close and cheer on the drivers. As of today, the forecast is that only about three or four single-seaters will participate in the urban race. "It is an unprecedented event," says the acting Minister of Business and Labor, Roger Torrent.
"It will be an announcement from the city to the world," defends Escudé, who has been working for a long time to bring major sporting events back to the Catalan capital, with the great promise of the America's Cup on the horizon or the start of the Vuelta Ciclista a year ago. "We want to put Barcelona back on the map," emphasizes the socialist councilor, not only as an element of economic and tourist promotion but also sporting, with the aim of encouraging residents to be more athletic.
The race on Wednesday, June 19, will be accompanied by a large deployment in Plaza Catalunya. For eight days, from Saturday, June 15 to Saturday, June 22, a fan village will be set up to learn about this world, designed for both the most ardent fans and the average citizen. What was traditionally set up in Port Vell, of much smaller dimensions, will be expanded, with the forecast of being able to attract between 70,000 and 90,000 people.
In the new space, F1 single-seaters will be exhibited, visitors will be able to get into vehicle simulators and a podium will be replicated ---without the cava---, they will even learn how to change tires. Concerts will also be scheduled every night and there will be food stalls and shops with merchandising. In addition, it will be there where the drivers who will race along Paseo de Gràcia will come once their race ends to meet the fans. "It will be a great F1 festival," Escudé summarizes.
At the presentation of the first edition of the citizen activities for the great automobile prize, the Head of Race and Market Development for Formula 1, Kate Hodgkinson, participated, who did not shy away from the big question that hung over the room, its continuity in Montmeló after announcing a new race in Madrid. "Spanish fans are very important to us. We have to consider all aspects. No decision has been made yet," says Hodgkinson, without giving many clues about what the final resolution will be for an infrastructure that is stepping on the accelerator.