The Madrid institutions are in constant contact with the FIA to host a Grand Prix in the capital in the not too distant future when the contract with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya ends. Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community, runs the project personally.
After many empty projects without content, some bordering on direct scam, a future Formula 1 GP in Madrid is underway. The institutions have finally agreed to turn the capital of Spain into the scene of a race that, in addition to recovering the Great Circus for the region, aims to be the alternative to the increasingly questioned Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Isabel Diaz-Ayuso, president of the Community, has taken it as a personal challenge to wrest Formula 1 from Catalonia. With the political background entails, the popular leader has already taken the first steps so that Madrid can once again have a Grand Prix like before. It is no coincidence that the Jarama Circuit is now called Circuit of Madrid – Jarama RACEalthough this is not the favorite now to host the future race.
As explained by ‘Relevo’, IFEMA is already advancing in negotiations with the FIA to be the venue for the future circuit. With the support of all institutions (City Hall, Community, Royal Spanish Automobile Federation and the Government of Spain itself), the fairgrounds have numerous logistical advantages compared to the old layout of San Sebastián de los Reyes, which had ten F1 races between 1967 and 1981. Now, Ayuso’s goal is for the Spanish GP to return to Madrid for the 2026/2027 seasons.
The layout itself is yet to be designed, and several alternatives are being considered, but IFEMA and the Valdebebas area (north of the capital) are the favorite sectors to have a semi-urban circuit and, therefore, easier to make, assemble and disassemble according to needs. The good ones communications of the area, the proximity to the Baraja’s airport and the remarkable hotel and tourist offer of Madrid are the main arguments in its favour. Against: the memory of the Valencia Street Circuit fiasco and the more than probable opposition of a good sector of the population.
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Montmeló, highly noted
Although for the teams it is still essential, Montmeló is increasingly marked due to administrative and organizational problems. The controversy raised in this 2022 is the last of many, with the controversy over the use of the independentistas of a Spanish GP that bothers the Royal Federation, first, and the FIA itself and Liberty Media, who do not want to know anything about the political issues.
With a downward renewal, what is clear is that beyond 2026 is very complicated that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya continues on the Formula 1 calendar. The strength of other non-European markets and the difficulty of making it economically sustainable (in addition to the internal opposition within the government of the Generalitat) play against it.
These factors play in favor of Madrid’s candidacy. Since the beginning of this 2022 they have had several conversations with the FIA, which will intensify in the coming months. From Montmeló they look skeptically at these movements, attributing it to a propaganda use by President Díaz Ayuso, but youThey don’t trust either.
Photos: Madrid’s community