Madrid's New Street Circuit: Ambition Meets Reality
The debut of Madrid’s new street-style circuit delivered the show off-track. On it, the reviews were far less generous.
The Spanish Grand Prix’s first visit to the Madring wrapped in a swirl of mixed verdicts: a slick, ambitious event wrapped around a race many drivers found processional and, at times, painfully dull.
A spectacle without the spark
From the grandstands and the paddock, the setting impressed. The temporary circuit, threaded through and around the Ifema exhibition centre near Madrid’s international airport, looked the part: a tight, technical layout, crowned by the steeply banked Turn 12, La Monumental. Under the lights, it felt like a statement of intent from a city determined to become a long-term F1 hub.
On track, the story shifted.
Overtaking proved scarce. Williams driver Alex Albon did not sugarcoat it, calling the race “pretty boring”. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto went even further, saying he “almost fell asleep”. The criticism echoed through the paddock: a layout praised for its single-lap challenge had choked the racing once the lights went out.
Race winner Kimi Antonelli captured the frustration from the cockpit.
“It definitely doesn't create overtaking opportunities and it doesn't push you to try and make a move because 80% of the time you might have a contact,” he said. In other words, the risk-reward balance was badly off. “There are some corners that need to be changed to create more overtaking opportunities because right now, yes, it's nice over one lap, but for sure in the race you're just stuck behind.”
World champion Lando Norris, who lost a likely victory for McLaren when the timing of a virtual safety car swung the race away from him, went straight to the heart of the design.
“There are some obvious changes they should make,” he said. “They should get rid of [Turns] 18, 19 – useless. Just have more of a straight into a hairpin.
“I don't know how someone looks at this design and goes, ‘mint’.”
He did, though, underline the circuit’s potential. “There's a lot of opportunity. They can make it into a track that's good for racing, and I'm excited to come back here next year if they can make these changes because I think it's a track that is good fun to drive and it can be a great racetrack.”
Teams hail the event, question the layout
While drivers picked apart the racing, team principals lined up to praise what Madrid had pulled off in a compressed timeframe.
Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur struck a measured balance: “First, I have to say that we can discuss about overtaking, but overall, for me, the event was mega.
“The infrastructure, we were mega welcome in the city. We have also to be fair with them and to congratulate Madrid for the job done on this side.”
Vasseur also pointed to a crucial advantage Madrid holds over some of F1’s more historic venues.
“They are keen to do modifications in the future. They have probably more latitude in Madrid than in Monaco to change something. Let's work together to see if we can do something. But overall, I think we have to be fair with them. It was a good effort.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff went even stronger on the positives around the event itself.
“For a first [race], it's probably one of the best, or maybe the best, that I've seen so far,” he said. “It's a temporary circuit. They've built something that is challenging for the drivers. A mini Macau or a mini Monaco. The location is good.
“We’re thinking about how much more can we do next year in terms of the events here or presentations because we have the space and that's very rare. So I would say congratulations for a first.”
Then came the caveat.
“And then it's the tricky bit. Doing a track that is spectacular also for the drivers. And then building it in a way that there is lots of overtaking.
“I had a discussion yesterday with the CEO of the circuit and they are totally open-minded about next year and say we've had the discussions with the FIA – ‘what is it we should do? How is it that we should lay the track out when it comes to overtaking also?’
“There is a constant discussion and I think that they are on it and understand that we can tweak it a little bit here or there.”
Organisers ready to redraw the map
Behind the scenes, that tweaking is already being mapped out. Organisers have told Formula 1’s commercial rights holder and the governing body, the FIA, that they are willing to alter the layout for next year, a rare and important flexibility for a street-style venue.
The Madring is an unusual hybrid: part existing roads around Ifema, part permanent circuit sections, stitched together with features like La Monumental that were designed to give the track a signature feel. That patchwork approach gives Madrid room to manoeuvre where more constrained city tracks cannot.
Madring managing director Luis Garcia Abad, formerly Fernando Alonso’s manager, did not respond to requests for comment from BBC Sport on Monday. Speaking to Autosport after the race, though, he made the organisers’ position clear.
“The FIA defined clearly which is the way to improve the track layout, and we will be open because we will have to reinstall the track for the next year.
“I really believe that the drivers enjoyed qualifying a lot. But for sure we will try to make an improvement for next year.
“We have the space, we have a venue, we have the facilities, we have the capacity to do it. I'm sure that FOM, FIA and ourselves, we will try. If we can improve something, we will do it.”
Fans less forgiving
While the paddock praised Madrid’s ambition, many fans were far less impressed with the basics.
On social media, complaints poured in about access and facilities: spectators sitting on bare earth trackside, poor visibility in key viewing areas, broken or unfinished infrastructure and a general feeling that the venue simply was not fully ready.
The time pressure was no secret. Organisers raced the clock to assemble the circuit and its surroundings for the inaugural event, and in places that scramble showed.
The contrast was stark: a polished TV product and a paddock charmed by the city on one side; on the other, paying fans highlighting the cracks in the experience and a race that rarely caught fire.
A second chance on the horizon
Strip away the noise and one reality stands out: Madrid has something F1 wants. A major European capital, a flexible venue, a layout with technical bite and a promoter willing to listen.
Right now, the Madring is a fast, unforgiving qualifying circuit that suffocates wheel-to-wheel racing. The next few months will decide whether it stays that way or evolves into the kind of track drivers and fans demand.
The blueprint is on the table. The question is simple: when Formula 1 returns to Madrid, will the race finally live up to the stage?
