Opened in December 1985 and hosting its first Spanish Grand Prix just four months later, Circuito de Jerez has been one of the premier racing facilities in Spain for nearly four decades. It brought the World Driver’s Championship back to the country after a four-year hiatus, and even after giving up full-time status to Barcelona in 1991, returned as host of the European Grand Prix multiple times—most notably as the season finale in 1997, when Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher set up a title-deciding thriller by posting identical qualifying laps and colliding during the race, with Villeneuve surviving the collision and winning the title.
Jerez has only seen minor modifications since it was first opened, settling into its current 2.751-mile, 15-turn layout in 1994. Many of these are tight, heavy-braking corners, such as the Curva Dry Sac where Villeneuve and Schumacher made contact, or the Curva Lorenzo that sets drivers up for the final straightaway. The track also features a chicane named for Ayrton Senna, who won the 1986 and 1989 Spanish Grands Prix.