Lewis Hamilton's team pushes their man's McLaren-Mercedes along the pit lane as Spanish fans of Fernando Alonso shout and give the thumbs-down sign. (LAT photo) » More Photos

Despite the controversies over racist epithets hurled his way by fans during winter testing in Spain, Hamilton emphasized his enthusiasm for the Spanish race. “The Circuit de Catalunya is a great track; we can’t ever lose it from the calendar,” he declared. “It always sees competitive racing and there are so many enthusiastic fans there all the time which makes for a great atmosphere.

The fans’ enthusiasm will be primarily reserved, of course, for two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, who returns to home ground back in Renault colors this year. Alonso acknowledged the impact of the fans’ backing, but warned them not to set their hopes too high:

“This is certainly a special feeling. I benefit here from amazing support and it is very motivating,” Alonso said. “Some people see this as added pressure for me, but it’s not. Instead it gives me the determination to do even better. I hope to be in a position to give the Spanish people a beautiful show. And with two races in Spain this year, I am very lucky.

“After the first three races, it was clear that we were not at the level of the leading teams. We were missing some speed and the car was sometimes unstable in the quick corners and under braking. The team has made big efforts with improvements to the aerodynamics and with the level of mechanical grip. We had the chance to work through these on the track at Barcelona last week, and the first results proved encouraging. But it remains to be seen how much our competitors will have improved by as well.”

Hamilton noted that the Barcelona circuit’s technical challenge has been thrown a few new curves this year.

"The Circuit de Catalunya is a challenging track for the engineers and drivers,” said the Briton. “It has changed a little bit in character prior to last year’s Grand Prix. One of the key factors at this circuit is achieving a good balance through the variety of corners. Turn Two is a big corner and it provides a good challenge from both a driving and set-up perspective. With the end of the circuit now being tightened up a fair amount, we have got to get that balance so we will get good high-speed corner performance and traction coming out of the low-speed corners. There are a range of different challenges and technically it is an interesting circuit."

SPEED broadcast schedule for the Spanish Grand Prix from the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona:

• Friday, April 25 – Practice (8 a.m. ET, LIVE)
• Friday, April 25 – Inside Grand Prix (9:30 a.m. ET)
• Saturday, April 26 – Qualifying (8 .m. ET, LIVE)
• Sunday, April 27 – Spanish Grand Prix (7:30 a.m. ET, LIVE)