Formula 1 announced earlier this week that the Spanish Grand Prix is moving to Madrid for 2026 on a 10-year deal, so what are the details behind the sport’s newest venue?
The race will be approximately 16km from the city centre at the IFEMA Madrid convention centre and it is said that 90% of those attending will be able to make it to the venue via public transport, either by the city metro system or the tram that will transport international visitors in just five minutes from the nearby airport.
Accessibility was one of the major factors driving Madrid’s F1 bid, which will see a capacity of 110,000 fans a day witness F1 cars race around a 5.47km course featuring 20 turns.
Woven around the streets of the IFEMA convention, the ‘semi-permanent’ circuit will blend existing roads and newly laid track after an evolving process to plan its layout
“From the very first suggestion to where we’ve ended up, there’s been about 24 track models, but then there’s been numerous sub-model investigations and different details as well,” explains F1’s Head of Vehicle Performance Craig Wilson via F1.com.
“We’ve now got a concept that we’re happy to proceed development with and we’re very excited to see it take shape. I think it will be a good challenge for the drivers.
Subject to FIA homologation, the circuit will boast an estimated lap time of 1 minute 32 seconds and takes cues from Miami as a semi-permanent layout.
“It’s in between what you’d consider a normal street track layout and more towards a permanent circuit style layout,” Wilson added.
“A lot of the places will have a temporary circuit-type installation, but then there’s other sections which may look or feel a bit different depending on the final implementation decisions to suit the IFEMA site.”
Turn 10 “has scope to be banked,” and the team behind constructing the layout are currently focussed on “how banked we make it, what kind of banking and what kind of profile we go for, with a mind to how can we turn Turn 11 and Turn 12 into a potential overtaking action area”.
Split between the IFEMA site and Valdebebas northern expansion area, the circuit will require a short tunnel section to run underneath the motorway and the layout will navigate surrounding architecture.
This draws further comparisons to the Miami International Autodrome, which has to conform to running underneath a freeway and the Miami Gardens area.
Like the Hard Rock Stadium, the IFEMA centre’s buildings will have a part to play, with halls used to house hospitality and the pit and paddock entwined in the shared space.
A lot of work is needed to ensure the venue is prepared in time for the 2026 Spanish GP.
“The next steps are that it now needs to go from concept into detailed design development and importantly through the FIA submission and homologation process, and all the safety assessments, to achieve a Grade 1 track licence,” Wilson said.
“As you start construction, it needs to go through all the inspections, while we have to work with the developers on all the planning, infrastructure, how the garages are going to be arranged, how the paddock layout specifics are going to be and all of our systems integration, so it’s the start of the journey.”
