Formula 1 fans will bid farewell to the Barcelona Grand Prix on Sunday as the race prepares to enter a new phase in its history18:00, 12 Jun 2026The Barcelona Grand Prix will stage its first Formula 1 race under its new name on Sunday when Kimi Antonelli attempts to defend his lead at the standings summit. However, the race will also be a farewell of sorts.‌Barcelona will not host a GP next year after F1 announced a major change to the schedule earlier in 2026. However, the calendar tweak will only be temporary as it enters a new rotational cycle with the Belgian GP.‌It was confirmed in February Formula 1 had extended its contract to hold races at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya until 2032. However, as part of the new arrangement, the Barcelona GP will now only stage races in rotation with its Belgian counterpart.‌The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, better known simply as Spa, will stage races in odd-numbered years starting in 2027. That means the Barcelona GP will next return in 2028, with further dates arranged for 2030 and 2032.JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! All the best sports news and much more on our dedicated Facebook pageThis will be the first season since 2012 in which Spain has hosted two Grands Prix. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was originally scheduled to host this year's Spanish Grand Prix before it was announced Madrid would take over as a host city.‌"Barcelona is an incredible city, and the Formula 1 fans there always welcome us with such passion, so I am delighted that we will continue to race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for years to come," said F1 president Stefano Domenicali at the time."The team have invested heavily in the circuit and hosted fantastic fan festivals in recent years, so we look forward to seeing how they continue to develop the experience, both for attendees at the race and for the city as a whole."‌The capital city's new circuit, the Madring, has signed a contract with F1 that will see it host races annually until 2035. That left Barcelona to share its race slot with Spa under the new biennial agreement.The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya opened its doors in 1991 and hosted the Spanish GP for 34 consecutive years until 2025. The venue has also acted as a key venue in F1 pre-season testing for years now, with drivers developing a keen familiarity with its course.However, Sunday will mark the start of a new dawn once the seventh race of the 2026 campaign is over. McLaren's Oscar Piastri claimed victory at last year's race ahead of team-mate Lando Norris but Antonelli will once again be among the favourites to come out on top this weekend.‌The Mercedes marvel has been a revelation this season after storming to the top of the leaderboard. However, Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton will also hope to be in the mix after back-to-back runner-up finishes in Canada and Monaco.It was already confirmed in January 2025 that Spa would extend its contract to host races until 2032 on a biennial basis. However, it was only announced this year that slot would be shared with Barcelona moving forward.Article continues belowJoin our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.