With the Madrid GP coming to the F1 calendar in 2026, fans fear the famous race in Suzuka under the Japanese GP banner might be under threat of facing the axe. While the idea terrifies the fans, former F1 team boss Peter Windsor is in favor of the same, as he revealed while appearing as a guest in an interview for the YouTube channel Cameron F1.
However, his explanation behind the same is different than what one might expect, as Windsor claims the new cities that can ensure the commercial viability of the project should build exact replicas of some iconic tracks. “You build a Suzuka in a place, in a country, which can afford to pay for a replica of Suzuka.”
Windsor added that if a new country wants to come in, one of the prerequisites of F1 should be the demand to build replicas of iconic tracks, and if they agree, then “Go for it.”
The addition of the Madrid GP to the calendar led to fans fearing the removal of the Barcelona from the calendar. Fears of the scrapping Suzuka stem from a similar place, given traveling to Spain is much easier for Europeans as opposed to traveling to Japan in Asia.
Suzuka has been one of the most famous venues of F1 races and has seen its fair share of significant moments. Perhaps the most iconic of them all was the 1989 crash between teammates Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, which led to the former eventually winning the drivers’ title. Another noteworthy moment came in 2006 when Fernando Alonso beat Michael Schumacher for the drivers’ title in Suzuka, ending the German driver’s dominance in the sport.
Madrid GP no threat to the race in Barcelona
Shortly after announcing the inclusion of Madrid in the calendar, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicalli addressed the concerns of the fans and claimed the latest inclusion did not necessarily mean that they would remove Barcelona.
He assured that the sport has a good relationship with the Catalan organizers for the future and even has plans of extending their collaboration with the city. However, the current Concorde Agreement allows for only 24 races in an F1 season, making things slightly tricky.
Madrid Circuit#MadridGP #SpanishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/m4CHn7GW5z
— F1 HUB NL (@f1hubnl) January 23, 2024
Given the current nature of the logistics, having races in Madrid as well as Barcelona might not be an optimum scenario for F1. As such, they would either have to amend the agreement before the Madrid GP or scrap a race either in Barcelona or some other city.
However, given the Madrid GP will debut in 2026 and the new Concorde Agreement comes into effect the same year, the authorities could add another race to the calendar, increasing the maximum number of races in a season to 25.
