Formula 1‘s newest venue, the Madring, arrives with unknowns attached, and Cadillac, the only team yet to score a point this season, is already banking on the kind of unpredictability.
The brand-new circuit makes its debut this weekend as the new home of the Spanish Grand Prix, with ongoing work to complete the complex finishing just in time.
It has generated a whole host of conversation alraedy, partly through the rush against time to complete it, as well as track time already being completed by Formula 3 last month, adding to Ferrari’s filming day test prior.
Whilst all drivers on both ends of the experience spectrum are in the same boat, those with more Grands Prix under their belt will no doubt be feeling a little more about what it could offer.
And two veterans of the sport – both of Cadillac’s drivers – are looking forward to the challenge.
“The track looks good. It looks difficult, and it’s a big challenge for everyone, so I’m looking forward to it,” said Valtteri Bottas, who when pressed on what that might mean for the race, offered a direct response.
“I think it could be messy,” he said. “You know, it’s one of those tracks that could be an interesting race weekend, so that’s always an opportunity for us.”
Cadillac hopeful for ‘a bit of an opportunity’ in F1’s brand-new circuit
Sergio Perez, Bottas’ teammate, hit a similar tone, saying: “I think it will be fun,” adding: “I think it will be challenging; there can be some opportunities.”
Asked how it compared to F1’s other high-risk street circuit, he drew the comparison directly: “I don’t think it’s any more dangerous than Jeddah, to be honest, but we’ll see. It depends on the grip level and stuff, but I hope that it can be a bit of an opportunity for us.”
Perez continued: “It’s a little bit of a mess, I think, probably with the factory in getting the parts here, and that sort of stuff, so we’ll see what happens.”
The circuit’s own numbers support their instincts. At just 12 metres wide for most of the lap, Madring squeezes 22 corners into 5.4km, and Carlos Sainz, the circuit’s own ambassador, has likened its character to Jeddah, both built around fast corners with walls close to the track.
The F3 test there produced 19 red flags over two days, evidence of unresolved danger zones, with Turns 5, 6, 7 and 17 the most common crash spots. The circuit’s standout section, La Monumental [Turn 12], a 550-metre, 24-degree banked corner, adds a novel variable, loading cars differently than anything else on the calendar, and blind, high-speed sequences have caused real visibility issues at Jeddah before.
Add in the usual volatility of a brand-new surface, evolving grip across a debut weekend, and the ingredients are there for a chaotic race. If it plays out as Bottas and Perez hope, a safety car or red flag at the wrong moment for the front-runners could hand points to cars that otherwise have no real path to them.
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