MADRID (AP) — Changes are expected to the new Madring track next year after its lackluster debut at the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.
Organizers said they are open to trying to improve the layout that produced virtually no overtaking opportunities and drew widespread criticism from Formula 1 drivers. The lack of track action was criticized by fans as well as F1 returned to Madrid after a 45-year absence.
Event director Luis García Abad said that governing body FIA has already indicated the changes that might be needed on the urban track that mixes existing roads and purpose-built sections. Madrid signed a 10-year contract to be on the F1 calendar.
"Well, to be honest, FIA has clearly defined how to improve the circuit layout, and we will be open to that because we will have to refurbish the circuit for next year," Abad told Motorsport.com.
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli won Sunday's race after pole-sitter Lando Norris caught an unlucky break with the timing of the deployment of the virtual safety car. Norris ended third, behind Max Verstappen.

#track #improve

The inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring has drawn heavy criticism from F1 fans and drivers over the limited overtaking opportunities on the narrow circuit. Its layout reportedly made the race a dull spectacle for many, and now even Spain's Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, has weighed in. Puente didn't hold back, describing the event as "an absolute dud."
Puente has kept his criticism constructive, comparing the Spanish GP with the Monaco GP, which is also known for offering limited overtaking opportunities. Monaco's narrow city streets have become increasingly challenging as F1 cars have grown larger over the decades, while significantly widening the roads is simply not a realistic option.
Despite Monaco's reputation for limited overtaking, this year's race featured 10 overtakes during the entire race, according to a social media post from Autosport. By comparison, the Madrid race last weekend saw just four overtakes.
Spanish Grand Prix, Sunday Madrid: Motorsport: FIA F1 Grand Prix of Spain, Formula 1 2026
on September, 13, 2026, (Photo by Hoch Zwei)
Start
01 NORRIS Lando (gbr), McLaren F1 Team MCL40, action
12 KIMI ANTONELLI Andrea (ita), Mercedes AMG F1 Team W17, action
44 HAMILTON Lewis (gbr), Scuderia Ferrari SF-26, action
Puente expressed his view while replying to a user on X who stated that the sporting side of the event suffered the most. The minister wrote:

#spanish #race #team

F1 free live streams: How to watch Formula 1 2026 Spanish Grand Prix without cable originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
This weekend marks a historic return to Madrid for Formula 1, with the Spanish Grand Prix taking place at the brand new Madring on Sunday.
The Madring marks the first all-new venue to be added to the F1 calendar since the Las Vegas Strip Circuit in 2023, meaning drivers have no idea what to expect. The layout features a combination of public roads and new purpose-built sections, as well as an intense Turn 12 nicknamed 'La Monumental', which is officially the longest banked corner in the sport.
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli returned to winning ways at his home race in Monza last week, even with a grid penalty that started him in the 19th position. The 19-year-old is still holding strong at the top of the Drivers' Championship standings, with teammate George Russell 66 points behind.
F1 hasn't competed in the Spanish capital in 45 years. Who will become the inaugural champion at the Madring?

#madring #grand #marks #preferred

MADRID (AP) — Formula 1 drivers enjoyed the high adrenaline produced by the Madring track at the Spanish Grand Prix while complaining about the lack of overtaking opportunities on the new circuit.
They also called for other improvements such as reducing the pit lane length. Madrid has produced a hybrid urban circuit using existing roads and purpose-built sections for its first grand prix in 45 years.
"In terms of track design I think it can be better," Red Bull's Max Verstappen said on Saturday. "Input from drivers in the future on track design can also help a lot. ... If you want to have better racing, overtaking, I think there can be a few corners that can be changed."
Verstappen added, "There's always a way to find an overtaking opportunity around a track."
There were only a few overtaking maneuvers in the first days of action at Madring across F1, F2 and the F3 series. Some commentators called Madring the Spanish Monaco.

#madring #overtaking #spanish

America's F1 hopeful Colton Herta pulls out of the sprint F2 race in Madrid with illness, but it comes after the FIA penalised him to start from the pitlane.
It is not going well for America's F1 hopeful Herta at all in the FIA Formula 2 (F2) Championship in 2026. Having taken a big step to move away from IndyCar in the hope of securing enough superlicence points to race in Formula 1, potentially with Cadillac, the season hasn't gone his way at all.
Racing for Hitech GP, Herta is 17th with 26 points after 10 rounds, with a best result of fifth. The American is racing at F1's new Madring circuit in Madrid on Spanish GP weekend. He started it well in fourth. He was doing well in qualifying in the Top 10 for the most part.
However, he dropped to 12th in the end after he suffered a crash at Turn 19 to end the session. Following the day's run, just before Restricted Period One kicked in for F2 teams, Hitech GP found a problem with the American's car, which they started to work on.
Since it was a priority, they continued working into Restricted Period One and therefore were in breach of Article 21.6a of the F2 regulations. The technical delegate reported the matter, and the stewards duly penalised him with a pitlane start in Madrid's sprint race on Saturday.

#herta #madrid

Sky Sports' Ted Kravitz gave a rare sneak inside the F1 drivers' briefing room in Madrid for the Spanish GP, as FIA lists changes to Madring circuit after the meet.
Like the earlier years of F1, footage from drivers' briefing was back online in 2017 season when Formula One Management allowed snippet to be posted on its Youtube channel with the late Charlie Whiting as the FIA race director. It was done for few rounds, starting in Monaco.
After its success, the footage was broadcasted in races like Malaysia, ****** an, Austin and Mexico. But it was discontinued from 2018 onward due to breach of sanctity of discussions that the F1 drivers think should be private between them and the FIA, its race director.
They wanted to speak with an open mind in the form and not let it out in public to create fan wars and unwarranted interpretations. Since then, no footage has been made available, although the discussions that takes place often gets around in the media, especially if there are some long discussions.
Even photographs are rare in current times, but Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz gave a rare sneak into the F1 drivers' briefing room in Madrid for the Spanish GP, during his Friday ****** ysis show. The few seconds captured old teammates seated together interacting with each other.

#drivers #footage #sports #spanish

The Williams F1 team's special livery for the Spanish GP weekend has raised some eyebrows on social media, considering the colours it is running that had links with the Bin Laden family.
Williams showed its special livery for the F1 Spanish GP at Madring, going back in time to use the colours that they ran aboard the FW07, which was driven in various versions between the 1979 and 1982 F1 seasons. They modelled the colour used in the 1981 Spanish GP – the FW07C.
They raced at the Jarama circuit, with the car driven by Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann. The colour was linked to sponsorship from Saudi Arabia's Saudia Airlines and Albilad. Having started its journey in 1977 in Formula 1, Williams got sponsorship from the Middle East first in the 1978 F1 season.
The team ran as Albilad-Saudia Racing Team in 1979, which continued through to 1981. In the 1980 and 1981 seasons, they had one car with the Albilad Williams Racing Team name, while the second car ran under a different sponsor. The Albilad sponsorship continued until 1983, even though it didn't appear in the name.
The Saudia sponsorship lasted until 1984, after which Williams got the famous Canon sponsorship. The contentious name of 'Bin Laden' that fans are vocal about on social media pertains only to the 1979 F1 season, the first time the British outfit got backing from Saudi Arabia.

#williams #albilad #laden

Real Madrid, fresh off the back of Tuesday's victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League, are back in La Liga action on Saturday, as Jose Mourinho's side host Rayo Vallecano in a local derby at the Bernabeu. However, it is not the only major sporting event in Madrid this weekend, with the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix taking place at the Madring circuit for the first time.
The city of Madrid has been eagerly awaiting this moment ever since it has announced that the Formula 1 would be switching from Barcelona to the Spanish capital. There is a lot of excitement, although Real Madrid themselves are far from enthused about the event, which will be taking place in close proximity to their Valdebebas training ground.
In the build-up to a match day, Real Madrid would ordinarily be training in front of the media, before Mourinho hosts his press conference at Valdebebas. However, this will not happen on Friday, with MD reporting that enforced changes have been made due to the Spanish Grand Prix taking place this weekend.
Real Madrid have already had to deal with noise from the Madring circuit as a result of testing being done in the lead-up to this weekend's Formula 1 Grand Prix, and they will have to withstand it again on Friday. However, the first 15 minutes of the session will be held behind closed doors, which is the first change that has been enforced upon the club.
The biggest change to the club's pre-matchday plans affects Mourinho. Rather than speaking to the media at Valdebebas, his press conference will now take place in the Bernabeu's press room, which is far from ideal for him and the journalists in attendance, although this adjustment has been considered necessary due to the fact that noise from the Madring circuit would have a major effect on the presser.

#formula #spanish #grand

F1 drivers check out the new Madring circuit ahead of the Spanish GP, as they discuss the dangers, difficulties in overtaking and getting a lap done, and talk about the La Monumental corner.
Jeddah? Macau? Monaco? Baku? Zandvoort? The new Madring circuit has been compared to a lot of other tracks on the F1 calendar due to its nature and layout. The drivers are bracing for a hard and tough outing in this weekend's Spanish GP. The narrow and high-speed combination never works well for everyone, with the Saudi Arabian GP a prime example in recent times.
Of course, the F1 drivers eventually find a way through to get things right. But still, ahead of the start, they have mixed emotions, with most agreeing that it will be dangerous. Even though some feel it will not be as dangerous as Jeddah already is, the majority agree that defending will be much easier and overtaking much harder, as seen in Monaco.
Even getting a lap right in qualifying will be a challenge, which the F1 drivers accept. Almost everyone has had a run in the simulator, but they are waiting for the real feel, as the speed and power can only be ascertained once someone is really on track. One of its major attractions is the long, banked La Monumental, which, of course, everyone is looking to try in the real car.
Here's a list of F1 drivers speaking about the dangers:

#drivers #monaco #even #circuit

Round 14 of the 2026 Formula 1 season heads to the new Madring circuit, for the Spanish Grand Prix, from 11-13 September.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli came back from 19th on the grid for a spectacular win in front of his home fans at the Italian Grand Prix.
In another surprise during the weekend, Alpine's Pierre Gasly managed to secure the first pole position of his career on Saturday.
Antonelli was joined by his Mercedes team-mate George Russell on the Monza podium, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen third.
It was a disappointing weekend for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc crashing out of the race and Lewis Hamilton finishing sixth.

#madring

For the first time, Formula One is headed to Madrid, which will be hosting the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix at the city's brand new circuit, Madring. With the race now less than a month away, a drone shot of the circuit shows the ongoing work that is expected to be completed ahead of the race weekend scheduled for September 11–13.
The track in question was ready since Ferrari conducted a filming day at the 5.416 km, 22-corner circuit last month. However, construction of the grandstands and the pit building still seems to be ongoing, as seen in the drone footage. The deadline for that is not known, but there could be some considerable work to catch up on in case of a delay.
Madrid took over Grand Prix hosting duties from Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, which was the official venue for the Spanish GP that hosted its first F1 race in September 1991. Madrid reportedly offered F1 around €48 million per year for the rights, almost double what Barcelona was paying.
Madrid boasts the ****** le of "first major European capital" to host a Grand Prix, meaning accessibility shouldn't be an issue for fans traveling to the venue using various modes of transport. Tickets for the event have been sold out, according to a report by GP Fans.
Image Credit: Scuderia Ferrari on X

#race #spanish #september #fans

Madrid’s new F1 venue is already one of the most unconventional tracks on the calendar – the Madring is effectively split into two distinct halves by the M-11 motorway, with the southern portion built around the existing IFEMA exhibition halls and the northern section constructed on previously undeveloped land.
But the people running the place are already thinking about how to make it stranger. The layout is not set in stone, with the Spanish Grand Prix contracted to run at the venue through 2035.
That long runway gives the circuit’s operators room to experiment, and one idea on the table would make the Madring genuinely unprecedented in F1 history.
“We can also consider having the track inside the exhibition halls,” said track chief operating officer Carlos Jimenez to The Race. “It’s something that Formula E does in London, in the ExCel [Centre], and we are thinking about it here.”
The London ExCel comparison isn’t a throwaway comment from the executive. Formula E’s indoor/outdoor hybrid through the London docklands venue has been a fixture on that championship’s calendar for years, demonstrating that racing machinery can transition between open air and enclosed ***** e in a single lap. The logic is the same here. The IFEMA halls already sit directly alongside the circuit’s southern sector, so threading the track through them would be a matter of evolution rather than reinvention.