IndyCar confirms Barcelona race for 18 July 2027
IndyCar has announced its first race in Spain: the inaugural IndyCar Grand Prix of Barcelona at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 18 July 2027, under a multi-year deal. It will be the series' first European round since 2007.
A circuit finds a new tenant
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has a headline event for the year it will not host a grand prix. IndyCar announced on 23 October that the inaugural IndyCar Grand Prix of Barcelona will take place on Sunday 18 July 2027 at the track in Montmeló, under a multi-year agreement. Autosport describes the race as the centrepiece of Phase Two of the series' 2027 calendar.
The deal had been widely reported since 19 October, when El Periodico first wrote about it and the series declined to comment. Now it is official.
Firsts for the series
According to Autosport and PlanetF1, the race will be IndyCar's first in Spain. It will also be the series' first outside North America since the 2013 race in São Paulo, and its first in Europe since 2007, when it ran at TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands.
Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles called it "a monumental day for our sport" and said the series would bring its wheel-to-wheel racing to Europe. Pau Relat, chairman of Fira de Barcelona and Fira Circuit, described IndyCar's arrival as a major milestone for the venue. The announcement does not say how the race will be scored; a full calendar is still to come.
A home race for the champion
Alex Palou, who comes from the Barcelona area, said he was excited to be part of the series' first race in the city. Palou won his fifth IndyCar title in 2026 with Chip Ganassi Racing, his fourth in a row, a run matched only by Sébastien Bourdais from 2004 to 2007, according to Autosport.
The Formula 1 angle
The circuit has been on the Formula 1 calendar since 1991 and hosted its race as recently as this year. Under the rotation arrangement with Spa-Francorchamps, it will not host a Formula 1 race in 2027; the Belgian Grand Prix takes its place before Formula 1 returns to Catalonia in 2028, according to the reports. Madrid took over the Spanish Grand Prix name this season.
Our data shows what Formula 1 left behind this year. The Barcelona Grand Prix on 14 June was won by Lewis Hamilton, ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris. The Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid followed on 13 September.
Next year, the track will be busy in July with a different kind of car, and with a hometown driver defending a title streak.