Having received a letter from Mr. Manuel Aviñó, President of the Royal Spanish Motorsport Federation, stating certain considerations about the protocol of the start ceremony of the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya states the following:
- Ever since 1991, the year in which the first Spanish Grand Prix was staged at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, both anthems have been played on the grid 14 minutes before the start of the race. The procedure to play these anthems has always been the same: first the Spanish anthem, and then the Catalan anthem.
- During this opening ceremony, and ever since the first edition of the event, both flags are shown: the Spanish flag and the Catalan flag. In fact, a new format for the ceremony was introduced in 2015, on the request of Formula 1, with the attendance of authorities and the drivers at the head of the grid, in front of the flags, to provide it with more solemnity. Indeed, last year Mr. Aviñó attended the ceremony for the first time, as President of the Royal Spanish Motorsport Federation, and during the ceremony, both anthems were played and both flags were shown.
- Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya wants to express and state that it has always shown the utmost respect towards the Spanish and Catalan symbols.