🏁 Madrid 2026 - El Box de Franco
Franco arrives at the grand debut of the Madring, the newest circuit on the calendar
Published
10 Sep 2026
Est. reading time
3 min
🇪🇸 Madrid makes its Formula 1 debut
The Madring is the newest circuit on the calendar, built around the IFEMA exhibition centre, just 8 minutes from Madrid-Barajas airport and with a capacity of 110,000 people. It's a track that combines public roads with private land, along similar lines to Miami, but with a personality all of its own.
And Franco arrives here at one of the best moments of his season, ready to see all the fans making the trip to Spain.
The Madring
5.416 km, 22 corners and a mix of everything: long straights, brutal braking zones, dramatic elevation changes and the longest banked corner on the F1 calendar. Sainz, the circuit's ambassador and a Madrid native, has already warned that it's a track that takes time to understand, but one that already surprised the first drivers who tested it in F3.
All 22 corners will be new to every single driver, but the important thing is understanding what they're like before the race:
Corner 1: the most violent braking point of the year after Monza. Cars arrive at 320 km/h and have to get down to 100 km/h in a matter of metres.
Corner 3 - Hortaleza: a fast right-hander that launches drivers onto the longest straight on the circuit, 837 metres, where speeds will exceed 300 km/h.
Corner 4: taken flat out. Maximum speed on the circuit: 340 km/h.
Corner 5: another overtaking zone. From 340 km/h down to 80 km/h.
Corners 6 and 7 - Subida de las Cárcavas: an 8% uphill climb to the highest point on the circuit at 697 metres, with a blind corner at the summit. This will be one of the most technical and demanding sections.
Corner 8 - El Búnker: named after its proximity to Spanish Civil War fortifications. A 5% downhill drop after the climb. The car won't stop moving here.
Corner 12 - La Monumental: the star of the circuit. 550 metres of banked corner at 24%, inspired by the shape of a bullring. Drivers take it for around 6 seconds while 45,000 spectators watch from the grandstands. The longest banked corner in all of Formula 1.
Corner 22 - El Parque: the final corner of the lap, named after Parque Juan Carlos I. Slow and technical, with a huge amount riding on the exit onto the main straight.
⚡ What you need to know about overtaking
The circuit has four official overtaking zones: corners 1, 5, 13 and 17.
But the F3 drivers who were the first to test it warned that passing could be difficult without a clear pace advantage. The cars tended to form trains.
In F1 the picture could be different thanks to the overtake system under the new regulations. A driver running close behind can activate additional electrical power. And on a circuit with long straights like Hortaleza and Valdebebas, that advantage could be decisive.
Traffic management and qualifying are going to be crucial this weekend.
What they'll be working on this weekend
Madrid is a completely new track for every driver in F1, which means nobody arrives with any historical data advantage. The weekend starts from zero for everyone. The key points:
Qualifying: on a circuit where overtaking could be tricky, starting further up the grid changes everything
Learning fast: every lap has to have a clear objective
The elevation changes: the Subida de las Cárcavas and El Búnker will demand quick adaptation
La Monumental: finding the right rhythm through the longest and most banked corner on the calendar
⏱️ Weekend schedule
Friday 11th:
FP1: 13:30 🇪🇸 / 08:30 🇦🇷
FP2: 17:00 🇪🇸 / 12:00 🇦🇷
Saturday 12th:
FP3: 12:30 🇪🇸 / 07:30 🇦🇷
Quali: 16:00 🇪🇸 / 11:00 🇦🇷
Sunday 13th:
Race: 15:00 🇪🇸 / 10:00 🇦🇷
🩵 Go for it, Franco
Madrid is new territory for everyone. And Franco arrives refreshed, ready to write his own story at the newest circuit in F1.
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