Spanish Grand Prix: Everything to Know About the Track in Madrid

From 2026 onwards, the Spanish Grand Prix in F1 will take place in the city of Madrid. This ends a long-standing partnership with the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Now, fans are excited to see what the track in Madrid offers.

It is very early to talk about which car or team this layout will suit, but as per journalist Luke Smith, the projected qualifying time is going to be 1m 32s. As per Smith, the Spanish GP shifting to Madrid – the home city of F1 driver Carlos Sainz – will also make the race one of the most accessible on the calendar

Where is the Madrid F1 track located?

The layout is around the IFEMA exhibition complex, which is very close to the Airport. A part of the track will also go around the training complex of Real Madrid, one of the most successful soccer clubs in the world.

The fairgrounds of the IFEMA convention center in Madrid hosts several events, including music concerts. The area is called Campo de las Naciones, which is roughly 18 miles away from the city center.

Madrid’s Adolfo Suarez Barajas Airport is also very close to the track, which makes the event even more accessible for outstation fans. Teams and drivers too, do not have to travel too long.

Layout of Madrid’s track

Unlike Barcelona, Madrid’s track won’t be conventional. Instead, it will be a street circuit that also features some non-street sections, making the layout a ‘hybrid’ of sorts. The length of the circuit will be 3.39 miles (5.47 km) long, and there will be 20 corners.

The circuit has plenty of long straights with sudden turns at chicanes, that could prove to be good overtaking opportunities. There are also two tunnels, one leading up to the turn 7 to turn 9. The other one comes after turn 17.

Why is Madrid hosting Spanish Grand Prix?

Rumors surrounding Madrid replacing Barcelona have been going around for quite some time. One of the main reasons was F1’s pledge to reduce carbon footprint. IFEMA Madrid, where the race will be held, reduced its carbon footprint significantly (almost by 80%) over the last few years. F1 is planning to go carbon neutral by 2030, and this certainly helps them.

The financial factor will always play a huge role, because reportedly, the Madrid GP organizers put ahead a very lucrative offer that was hard to turn down.

Accessibility is also a huge factor. The race in Madrid is expected to have around 110,000 fans attend the Grand Prix, and that number could increase to 140,000 in the following years. Fans can access the race through public transport easily, unlike some other circuits on the F1 calendar for which they have to work intricately on traveling logistics.

Will Madrid mark the End of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona?

Barcelona had been on the F1 calendar for a long time. We’ve seen some very iconic races in the Catalan city in the past, but the circuit’s layout has always been slightly controversial. Fans have felt that overtaking is difficult in the Circuit de Catalunya, leading to fairly boring races.

However, now a lot of the same fans are talking about missing the circuit, as F1 personality and content creator Tom Bellingham pointed out. This could be due to the fact that there is another street circuit in the form of Madrid being added to the calendar.

There are plenty of street races on the current calendar, and a huge part of the fanbase feels that they don’t produce good racing. Instead, they are a ‘fancy show’ that takes place in whichever city pays the most amount of money.

On the other hand, the Singapore and Las Vegas GP in 2023 were full of excitement, despite them being street tracks. Whether Madrid brings the same level of thrill or not remains to be seen.