It’s one of the biggest news stories of the year: Formula 1 will return to Madrid in 2026 after more than four decades without hosting a Grand Prix. The Madrid event will also take the name Spanish Grand Prix after Barcelona’s contract with Liberty Media expires, although it will initially be known as ‘Madrid F1’ and Madring, which will be the name of the circuit.
Madrid is finalizing plans to start work on its F1 circuit, ‘Madring,’ in May
Hosting the Spanish Grand Prix after 45 years, the Spanish capital will replace the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Barcelona, which ends its contract with Liberty that same year.
However, this will not be the first time this has happened. Officially, the first Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix held in Madrid dates back to 1967 and was held at the legendary Jarama circuit, which was home to top-level motor racing until 1981.
This new construction, called Madring (Madrid and ‘Ring’, circuit in English), will be located in the IFEMA area and the Mad Cool music festival grounds. It will feature a banked curve similar to those in Indianapolis, with an incline of about 35º, which will pass close to Real Madrid’s Ciudad Deportiva. This curve will be the exit to IFEMA through the tunnel built for the festival that crosses under the M-11. It will have 20 curves and a length of 5,470 meters.
As such, the Formula 1 circuit in Madrid will be urban and must be ready by September 2026, although it is expected to be practically finished by May next year. To this end, there can be no delays, but with three months to build all the infrastructure. So far, tenders have reached 149 million euros.
The license for the works was expected to be granted this April, although José Luis Martínez-Almeida, mayor of Madrid, has now confirmed that it will be granted after Easter, so that work can begin in May.
Barcelona still does not want to give up F1 despite Madrid’s entry
“We have already put out to tender the contract for the construction of the circuit, and we will grant the license immediately after Easter, which means that work should, in principle, be able to begin in May to accommodate the 2026 calendar,” announced the mayor.
The contract, worth almost €150 million, includes the assembly and dismantling of all temporary track structures and facilities to enable the race to take place, as well as the restoration of public roads that form part of the track to their normal use once the race is over.
Now, what will happen to the Grand Prix located in Catalonia, currently held in Barcelona at the Montmeló circuit? For now, according to reports, it is planned that, initially, in 2026, both Madrid and Barcelona will host both Grand Prix races on the F1 calendar.
However, this will be the last time this happens, at least for now. Formula 1 does not want any country to host more than one race per year. It is similar to what will happen with the races in Italy, in Imola and Monza. Both will accept a change and will alternate each year. This may also affect the Spanish races.
But F1 does not want any country to host more than one Grand Prix per year.
“It will become increasingly difficult to have two races in the same country because interest in F1 is growing and it’s a situation we’ll have to deal with in the coming months.” So, although no one has wanted to rule out the possibility, with each passing day, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is closer to saying goodbye to a relationship that has been uninterrupted since 1991.
Since it was announced just over a year ago that Madrid would host the Spanish Grand Prix from 2026, uncertainty has hung over the Catalan racetrack, which will host the ninth round of the calendar on June 1.
What is known for now is that the circuit will continue to host the Catalan Motorcycle Grand Prix until at least 2031 following the renewal of the contract with Dorna Sports, which was due to expire in 2026. “The connection was already very good, but with the Solidarity GP it was special,” said the CEO of the organizing company, Carmelo Ezpeleta, referring to the race that Barcelona hosted in November after the effects of the DANA.
It is this negotiation that would serve as a lifeline for Formula 1, as Barcelona does not want to give up its Grand Prix under any circumstances, as it is where Fernando Alonso achieved his last and legendary victory in F1 in 2013.