Formula 1 is in the closing stages of its next big calendar move, relocating the Spanish Grand Prix in 2026 from Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to a new street circuit in Madrid, the country’s capital. However, the championship’s commercial rights holder has yet to inform the Royal Automobile Club of Spain (RACE), the national body that officiates the race alongside the FIA.
While Formula One Management negotiates the contracts to hold races, it doesn’t actually run the races. The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the sport’s global governing body, works with national clubs to evaluate the safety of new tracks, organize race officials and referee the event. It’s not an exaggeration to say these responsibilities are vital for F1.
RACE has yet to receive any of the necessary information to evaluate a potential street race in Madrid. RACE President Carmelo Sanz de Barros, who is also President of the FIA Senate, told Motorsport.com:
“So, have the Spanish Federation received as of today this project to be analyzed, studied and focused? No, they have not seen it. This special step has not happened yet.
“Then, when the Spanish federation consider that this project is a valid project and that they are interested, they channel it to where? To the FIA, because they have to homologate it. If they are talking about a semi-urban circuit, the first thing you have to do is to homologate it and certify, things like that.
The proposed Madrid Grand Prix circuit would be centered around IFEMA, an exhibition park in the northeastern portion of the city near Madrid-Barajas Airport. The race is heavily rumored to be F1’s first night race in Europe. The Spanish capital hosted F1 alongside Barcelona during the 1960s and 1970s at the purpose-built Jarama circuit, roughly 20 miles north of the city center.
F1 has tested the waters in Madrid with F1: The Exhibition, a curated showcase of the sport’s past, present and future at IFEMA. While the addition of street races in Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas have been incredibly lucrative for Formula 1, Formula One Management seems to be forgetting the entities that need to deliver the event once the contract is signed.