As per the recent developments, Madrid is all set to replace Barcelona to have the bragging rights of hosting F1 in Spain from 2026. Now, Karun Chandhok has come forward to share his thoughts on the venue change for the Spanish GP.
Taking to his personal X (formerly Twitter) account, Chandhok wrote, “Wow – this will be big if it comes through! Barcelona is a great city and the track is really challenging to drive but produces very dull racing.”
Wow – this will be big if it comes through!
Barcelona is a great city and the track is really challenging to drive but produces very dull racing…. https://t.co/RcFUAX8zWx
— Karun Chandhok (@karunchandhok) December 5, 2023
It is understood that the Spanish GP race in Madrid will take place on a semi-permanent track around the IFEMA Convention Centre, near Barajas Airport. It is more likely a street circuit and if things go according to plan, the Spanish Grand Prix will see its last race in Barcelona in 2025.
As per reports, the deal is most likely to be for ten years, which is from 2026 to 2036. Even though Chandhok felt the race in Circuit de Catalunya was a bit boring, few other people think otherwise about the proposed change.
Why did F1 change the Spanish GP venue to Madrid from Barcelona?
Although there is no exact reason why Formula One Management relocated the venue from Barcelona to Madrid, everyone including the F1 chief Stefano Domenicali has seen it coming.
Domenicali, as per The Independent told the media in March this year, “They are working to bring a race [to Madrid]. There is great interest [from Madrid], but it is also true that we are focused at the moment in Barcelona, which has a contract, and the relationship is strong.”
BREAKING: | Madrid has won the deal to host the Spanish GP from 2026. It is understood that this will be a 10-year contract.
Organisers have quoted that it will benefit from €500m per year#F1 #MadridGP #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/9L1MiHK0nB
— DIVEBOMB (@projectdivebomb) December 5, 2023
However, the fans are not happy about the change as the venue is more likely to be yet another street circuit race, something Liberty Media has brought in abundance in recent times.
Keeping all this aside, the Madrid GP organizers have quoted that it will benefit around €500 million [$540 million] per year from the race.
The Circuit de Catalunya is one of the oldest tracks in F1 and has been hosting the race in this venue since 1968. F1 also uses this track for pre-season testing ahead of the new season at times. It’ll be interesting to see the state of this circuit once F1 moves out of here to Madrid.
