Schumacher stuck in fifth gear and Mansell v Senna: Seven memorable Spanish Grand Prix moments

Since the race moved to Barcelona in 1991 the event has often been processional and dull, but these were rare bright sparks

• 

  1991. The first race at Barcelona was a cracker, at least the opening laps were. Conditions were damp and the McLarens of Gerhard Berger and Ayrton Senna fought to keep Nigel Mansell's Williams behind. Senna and Mansell came within inches of each other as they tussled wheel-to-wheel down the main straight at one stage. Mansell would go on to prevail, as the track dried out, to become the first winner at the Circuit de Catalunya. LAT Photographic

• 

  1994. When the list of great Michael Schumacher drives gets brought up this gets forgotten. The German drove more then 40 laps with his Benetton stuck in fifth gear and yet still finished second. He had been leading but adapted his driving style and managed to lap quickly, despite his car being badly hampered. He was only 24 seconds behind race winner Damon Hill at the end. Not thrilling racing but a stunning individual performance. Getty

• 

  1996. Schumacher again put in a masterclass, this time in a Ferrari. His car had been almost a second slower in qualifying as he lined up third. But on race day it hammered it down with rain. In tricky conditions, where only six cars actually finished, Schumacher was a class apart. He was often four seconds a lap faster then anyone else as he charged to the front then pulled away. In terms of fighting at the front it was a non-event, but again for watching a driver overcome average machinery to make a difference it made for an unforgettable spectacle. Getty

• 

  2001. Some last-gasp drama can always add spice to a race, even one as dull as the 2001 Spanish Grand Prix. The first 64 laps had been fairly forgettable as Mika Hakkinen looked on course to win in his McLaren. But at the start of the 65th and final lap his engine failed. The Finn tried his best to nurse the car to the finish line, but he had to stop at Turn 7. Schumacher, who had been 40 seconds behind, came through to win with Hakkinen being given a lift back to the pits by teammate David Coulthard post-race. Getty

• 

  2006. Alonso's home joy. Not memorable remotely for the track action this one. Spain had not had a home winner in an F1 race in Spain before so expectations were sky high for world champion Fernando Alonso's bid to end that run in 2006. The Spaniard delivered as he dominated the race in his Renault to leave the home fans ecstatic. Getty

• 

  2012. There are not many shocks in F1 these days but this was a real surprise. To put it into context the sheer randomness of Pastor Maldonado winning, it was the only time he ever finished in the top four in his career, and it remains the Williams team's lone success in the past 15 years. Maldonado passed Alonso during the pit stops to win so this lacked track action but made up for it in the sheer incredulity of seeing the Venezuelan on the top step of the podium. Getty

• 

  2016. Mercedes implode. The Mercedes cars were only in the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix for 30 seconds. But what a half minute it was as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collided and took themselves out of the race. It was a stunning visual but most importantly it blew open the race. The German marque had been expected to dominate, but instead Max Verstappen made history by becoming the youngest driver to win a race at the age of 18 years and 228 days. LAT

The European section of the Formula One season starts on Sunday at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The race has been based at the Circuit de Catalunya since 1991 with Jerez, Jarama, Montjuic and Pedralbes all previously playing host.

The event in Catalonia is currently one of the most established grands prix on the calender, with only Monaco, Britain, Hungary and Italy having longer streaks.

Yet the race is not exactly loved. The layout of the 4.5km circuit is not usually conducive to close racing, plus the teams test heavily there in the winter so car set-up is rarely a problem.

Only six times has the driver who started on pole position not won the race and the event has usually often been a procession.

But the Spanish Grand Prix has still had some fun moments, so ahead of the 2019 race, we decided to take a look at the highlights from Barcelona.

To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows, or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.