Madring debuts as F1 braces for demanding Madrid race

Formula 1 arrives at a brand-new venue this weekend as the Madring, a 5.416-kilometre semi-street circuit near Madrid, hosts the Spanish Grand Prix for the first time, replacing Barcelona as the country's principal Formula 1 destination. It is the sport's first new circuit since Las Vegas in 2023 and the first time Madrid has hosted a grand prix since Jarama in 1981. The hybrid layout, built around the IFEMA exhibition centre near the city's main airport, combines purpose-built sections with public roads and features 22 corners, including the signature La Monumental, a 550-metre banked horseshoe corner with a 24-degree gradient. The circuit's debut comes with warnings attached. A two-day Formula 3 test at the end of August produced 19 red flags and three wrecked cars, with incidents spread across the lap and concentrated mostly in the second sector, where chicanes, blind corners and La Monumental sit. Williams team principal James Vowles described the track as a potential car killer, telling a Spanish website that the F3 test showed it is a track that kills cars.