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Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix 2022: How to watch, stream and what to look for

John Parker
·2-min read

Formula 1 is back after two weeks for the Spanish Grand Prix, the sixth round of F1’s 22-race calendar in 2022. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya hosts the event for the 32nd straight year.

Here’s what you need to know about this weekend’s racing:

How can I watch the F1 Spanish Grand Prix?

Free practice 1: Friday, May 20, 7:55 - 9 a.m. ET (ESPN2, ESPNDeportes, ESPN app)

Free practice 2: Friday, May 20, 10:55 a.m. - Noon ET (ESPNU, ESPNDeportes, ESPN app)

Free practice 3: Saturday, May 21, 6:55 - 8 a.m. ET (ESPNU, ESPNDeportes, ESPN app)

Qualifying: Saturday, May 21, 9:55 - 11 a.m. ET (ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNDeportes ESPN app)

Race: Sunday, May 22, 8:55 - 11 a.m. (ESPN2, ESPN app)

Who are the top drivers and teams at the Spanish Grand Prix?

Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc enters the weekend as the leader in the world drivers’ championship on 104 points, ahead of the Red Bull duo of defending champion Max Verstappen (85) and Sergio Perez (66). LeClerc (+110) is the favorite at BetMGM to take pole position while Verstappen (+100), with the mighty Red Bull power train, is the favorite to win the Grand Prix.

Formula 1 - Spanish Grand Prix - Barcelona-Catalunya racetrack, Montmelo, Spain - 15/5/16 Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen of The Netherlands holds trophy after winning Spanish Grand Prix. REUTERS/Juan Medina
Reigning series champion Max Verstappen claimed his maiden Formula 1 win at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix. (Photo by Juan Medina/REUTERS) (Juan Medina / reuters)

Ferrari holds a slim edge atop the constructors’ standings on 157 combined points, just six points ahead of Red Bull and 62 ahead of the seven-time defending champion Mercedes. The biggest points haul a team can earn in a standard weekend (i.e. no sprint event) is 44.

While Mercedes has not enjoyed the success so far in 2022 that it had from 2014 to 2021, its seven-time drivers champion Lewis Hamilton has won each of the last five trips to Barcelona. Mercedes finished the 2022 preseason shakedown at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya 1-2 with Hamilton besting George Russell by a tenth of a second.

Two Spaniards will take part in the weekend as well, with two-time former Spanish Grand Prix winner (and two-time series champion) Fernando Alonso of Alpine and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. set to compete.

What will the weather be like for the Spanish Grand Prix?

Hot. The forecast for the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s surrounding neighborhood of Montemeló calls for temperatures in the mid-to-high 80s. That will be a similar physical challenge to Miami’s humid, high-80s temps which saw drivers visibly taxed after running a full race distance.

Pirelli is bringing the three hardest sets of tires in its five-compound range, which should mean less degradation and a likely one-stop pit strategy.