'Madring' F1 circuit gets unveiled by Madrid's Spanish Grand Prix organisers

The circuit that will host the Madrid Formula 1 Grand Prix for 10 years from 2026, the so-called ‘Madring’, has been officially presented to the public on Friday.

Full details of the circuit were unveiled at an event attended by Isabel Diaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid and Jose Luis Martinez Almeida, mayor of the capital, among other personalities from sport and politics, as well as Williams driver Carlos Sainz, who has been announced as the ambassador for Madring F1.

Organisers confirmed the 2026 F1 Spanish Grand Prix will be held over 57 laps of the 5.4-kilometre, 22-turn Madring circuit, having also presented an onboard lap of the digital version.

The Madring circuit, with numerous nods to the history of Madrid and Spain, will start with a 589-metre straight, the second longest of the entire layout. From the start line there will be a 202-metre sprint to Turn 1, but in racing conditions Turn 1s and 2 are expected to yield some overtaking opportunities as cars slow down from 320 km/h to 100 km/h for the first chicane.

The flat right-hander of Turn 3 is called Curva de Hortaleza, named after the eponymous Madrid neighbourhood that provides the backdrop, as the start of the urban part of the track down Ribera de Sena street.

After Hortaleza are the straight curves to the right through Turn 4, with a speed trap of approximately 340km/h as cars slow down for a tight Turn 5-6 chicane underneath a motorway overpass, easily the best overtaking opportunity around the entire lap.

Still on the public road, the chicane leads onto the Subida de las Carcavas, an 8% climb named after the neighbourhood it runs through. After a blind climb through Turn 7 comes El Bunker, a sharp right-hander adjacent to Spanish Civil War forts of La Mata Espesa. That leads the circuit onto the purpose-built section at the Valdebebas festival grounds, formerly used by the Mad Cool festival.

A fast sweeping downhill section of Turn 10 and Turn 11 gives modern F1 cars more room to flex their muscle, but the most exciting section of the Madring is yet to come.

Watch: Discover the complete MADRING layout

Meet Madring F1’s banked curve, La Monumental

Enter La Monumental, a steep right-hand banking with a semi-circular shape that takes inspiration from Zandvoort’s Luyendyk corner as well as Madrid’s bullfighting arena Las Ventas. The corner features a gradient of 24%, with 550 metres that will be covered in just over five seconds at around 300 km/h. On the outside a grandstand will be installed to provide views to up to 45,000 spectators.

A third potential overtaking opportunity follows at Turn 13, a slow 84 degree left-hander. It’s the start of another high-speed section called Las Enlazadas de Valdebebas’, swooping around football giant Real Madrid’s training complex. After going full throttle through Turns 14, 15 and 16, another hard braking zone follows for the right-hander at Turn 17.

The track passed under the motorway once more to return to the IFEMA fairgrounds that host the paddock. Turn 18 is called Curva Norte because it passes in front of the IFEMA North Convention Centre, which houses hospitality areas.

The track then goes into a more typical, twisty street course sector in between the various pavilions down to the final corner of 22, which is named The Park after the adjacent Juan Carlos I Park.

Construction of the Madring is expected to start early next month as organisers aim to get ready for the inaugural edition in September 2026, when Madrid joins Barcelona on the calendar for one year before likely remaining the only Spanish venue on the F1 calendar.

Last week a contract was signed with Spanish construction firm ACCIONA (60%) and France’s Eiffage Construction (40%), who will form a joint venture to construct the 5.47km circuit, easing concerns over the tender process’ slow progress.