The Catalunya Circuit experiences dry, warm conditions during June as the region transitions into the summer months. Rain is very unlikely on race weekend. In fact, there hasn’t been a wet race in 15+ years at Catalunya. With stable, warmer temperatures, the air is able to hold any present moisture as humidity and retain it without condensing. While cloud coverage can trap heat and help maintain comfortable air temperatures, it plays a significant role in ground temperature.
The forecast for the GP weekend calls for cloudier conditions Friday and Saturday, with clear skies on race day. The air temperature is said to remain around 75 degrees F throughout the weekend. Many people assume that warm air temperature = hot circuit temperature. It’s a bit more complicated than that… Cloud coverage dictates how much energy transfers to and from the Earth, so when clouds form, the incoming radiation traveling from the sun is faced with an obstacle. The circuit temperature is directly affected by the amount of radiation being aborbed and released – not by the air temperature.
As if tire choice isn’t already complicated enough, we can expect the circuit temperature to fluctuate throughout the weekend, putting even more stress on the optimal tire choice.
Below we have provided the average values for the climate variables our team studies, compared to the cumulative average of all 19 circuits. The goal of this chart is not to define each value numerically but to provide a side by side comparison to put each variable into context.
Unfamiliar with the climate variables that we take into consideration? Click here to learn more about what and why we study in regard to weather and racing.
