From “very high risk” to the “best race in Europe”

The Spanish Grand Prix’s Madring circuit has received a thumbs-up from several leading Formula 1 drivers as they praised its high-commitment layout, although not everyone is as impressed.

Having sampled the 5.4km circuit on the simulator, drivers were bracing for one of the most challenging weekends of the year on a track that combines the unforgiving nature of a street circuit with plenty of medium to high-speed corners. But nothing beats the real thing, and following two one-hour practice sessions, in which drivers clearly took extra caution not to be caught out by the lack of runoff areas, the first verdicts are in on F1’s newest venue.

“Honestly, it’s more difficult than some tracks,” said Oscar Piastri, who ended the day in fifth as McLaren struggled for performance compared to its rivals. “There’s a lot of sections here where you’re not really brushing up against the walls, you’re kind of turning or heading at them and then you need to avoid them. So, it makes things quite challenging. Everyone is still getting up to speed, but when you get into a decent rhythm over one lap, it’s pretty enjoyable.”
 
Other than an FP2 crash for rapid Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls, the day’s F1 running was completed without major issues. The circuit’s combined braking zones caused plenty of headaches as driver were careful to avoid lock-ups, while tyre wear, the rapidly changing grip levels and traffic proved to be some of the biggest headaches.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said: “It was exciting to drive on the Madrid circuit today. It’s a challenging street track, which is the type I usually enjoy and this one is no exception. I was quite impressed with the amount of grip there already was, considering that this is a completely new track with not much rubber on it so far.”

As team-mate Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheets, George Russell’s practice day reaffirmed his thoughts that the Madring was a “very high risk circuit”, though he worried overtaking would be “very tough”, a sentiment shared throughout the paddock.

The biggest positive noises came from Madrid resident Sergio Perez, who didn’t have much to write home about regarding the performance of his Cadillac machine, but was effusive about the Madring both on and off the track. “Yeah, really cool track, really nice venue,” the Mexican said. “Really happy to be here in Madrid. I think definitely this is going to become the best race in Europe.
 
“It’s going to be a chaotic qualifying tomorrow and obviously a very chaotic race on Sunday, so a lot can happen. I’m really looking forward to it and as a team we just have to make sure we are able to execute a perfect weekend.”

Not everyone is as enthused as Perez, though. Max Verstappen has never been the biggest admirer of street circuits, and what Madring has to offer hasn’t swayed his opinion.

“Yeah, I don’t know. I’m not a fan of street circuits so that will never never change,” the four-time world champion said. “I will always prefer to drive on a track like Spa. I mean, what they have done in the way they have built everything up, I think they’ve done a really good job. But I’m not a fan of street circuits.”

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

While the Madring isn’t particularly tough on F1 2026’s energy-starved power units, what is throwing things off kilter for both drivers and teams is the impact of the rapidly evolving track evolution on how their energy deployment works. That was especially difficult fro Fernando Alonso in the Honda-powered Aston Martin, who recovered from a clutch problem to complete the second half of FP2.

“It’s going to be always tricky to get it right with the tyre temperature, battery state of charge at the end of the lap,” the Spaniard said. “Sometimes if you do different a driving style in the last few corners, it seems that we are very sensitive to that with the Honda power unit.”

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– The Autosport.com Team