Five ways F1 can fix the Madring for next year's Spanish GP

September 15, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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F1's much-anticipated return to Madrid has left fans of the series wanting due to a lack of action, though the Madring venue itself put on a respectable event. Here are five ways organisers could improve the event for year two.

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By and large, Madrid's first F1 race in 45 years ran particularly smooth for a first-time event. The organisers planned to capitalise on the IFEMA fairgrounds' existing facilities and their easy access to public transportation and to the Barajas International Airport.

Early indications are that that plan worked rather well, with few if any of the typical horror stories accompanying a mass spectator event in the middle of a city. Other than dealing with a few overzealous security guards or police officers, the 110,000 capacity crowd was able to get in and out of the venue rather smoothly.

But F1 is a motor race first and foremost, so the biggest ticket item the Madring needed to get right was its on-track product. It left a lot to be desired. While qualifying was an enticing spectacle, the 5.4km circuit offered zero overtaking opportunities despite being drawn up from a blank sheet of paper.

Drivers were left unimpressed with the lack of overtaking opportunities.

There are plenty of reasons why the Madring circuit is the way it is. The southern part around the complex is inherently limited because of the existing, towering exhibition halls which need navigating around. The northern, purpose-built part was a blank sheet design, but IFEMA organisers could only use a part of the empty plot of land of the track with future pavilions and expositions in mind. Add in the layers of bureaucracy involved, and building an urban race circuit is no easy feat.

But that's no excuse for the circuit that was eventually delivered. As one racing driver put it when he saw an early mock-up of the design: "There's not going to be any overtaking here."

As organisers and the FIA work on improvements for the future, here are five suggestions to improve the venue for 2027.

1. Fix Turn 5

The most annoying aspect of the Madring was its insistence on drawing combined corner entries, where drivers have to brake and steer at the same time, both forces competing for a limited amount of tyre grip. It made certain corners very awkward and also made it easy for the car in front to defend.

Turn 5 is the worst offender, because on paper it was the only spot where overtaking could actually happen organically, following the longest flat/out section coming out of the first corner sequence.

But alongside the combined entry, the corner's lack of width, presence of high kerbs and proximity of the walls meant there was no realistic way to pass without risking being put into the wall or forced through the asphalt runoff area.

Other than Monaco, most other street circuits feature at least one passing opportunity. Madrid's corner design thwarted that, and it is understood Turn 5 is one of the corner that will undergo significant changes for 2027 following feedback by the drivers and the FIA.

Narrow, awkward chicanes made overtaking all but impossible.

2. Re-think the second half

Marketing efforts understandably focused on La Monumental, the majestic banking in Turn 12 which is unique on the F1 calendar. It looked okay on TV, but that didn't nearly do it justice. Standing on the inside of the loop in free practice was one of the better trackside thrills on the calendar because of the corner's many camber, radius and elevation changes that set it apart from an oval-style baking.

Organisers were rather optimistic to think that cars could take different lines through there, though, and the corner didn't add much value to the racing product itself. Its cause wasn't helped by the snaking section that followed. Turn 13 was another 90-degree medium-speed corner with awkward barrier placement that didn't allow for any passing. Turn 16 had another combined entry, while it was single-file through the final few corners towards the finish straight.

Lando Norris suggested a bypass of Turns 18 and 19 to create a second long straight followed by a hairpin in Turn 20, widening its design to allow different approaches, perhaps adding some camber, too. That would also involve realigning the exit barriers, as they annoyingly encroached on the racing line.

3. Make the Madring more compact

One of IFEMA's biggest advantages as a venue was also somewhat of a weakness. The place is enormous. That made it easier for teams to ship freight in and out and gave them plenty of space to work, and perhaps even add other activities in following years that they would never have the space for elsewhere.

But getting around was cumbersome, especially for a team like McLaren which was at the far end of the pitlane, creating a massive distance between its engineering hubs and hospitality units. It turned PR teams into golf car drivers for the weekend, but not everyone was as lucky to be ferried around. Hopefully the ground's massive size isn't just used to cram even more VIPs and celebrities into the venue, which already felt the case on Sunday.

There's also an on-track consequence to IFEMA's vast size. The 540-metre pitlane was not only particularly long, but also featured a 100-metre split in the middle dictated by existing buildings.

With the race turning into a relatively straightforward one-stopper, having such a long pitlane only further discouraged teams from attempting alternative strategies. When overtaking is almost impossible, strategic variance is the only way to induce it or otherwise spice up the race - short of hoping for red flags and safety cars.

4. Improve of sights and sightlines

As much as La Monumental was a distinctive landmark, the rest of the circuit felt like it could have been anywhere in the world and there was little

Former driver and now pundit and track designer Alex Wurz explained it best. "When I look at this concrete channel, at some point I wouldn't know which street circuit I'm on anymore," Wurz told ORF. "Am I in Australia, am I in Valencia, am I in Madrid, where am I?

"They all always look the same. That means I'm not representing my host city in such a cool way. There's quite a lot you could do there."

While the hair-raising La Monumental banking was a successful addition, many areas of the Madring circuit looked nondescript.

The Madring's case wasn't helped by the zoomed-in viewing angles and it was always going to be tricky to make racing around concrete exhibition halls look attractive. But there has to be a way to make people feel they are in Madrid. Otherwise, what is the point?

More care also needs to be taken to improve sightlines for spectators, as we received plenty of complaints from fans being blocked from seeing the cars from their expensive grandstand seats because of the concrete barrier placement. That's an issue that's relatively straightforward to resolve for next year, but it's a shame it couldn't have been prevented to begin with.

5. Amp up the fan experience

For Madrid, the most important thing was to get through year one respectably. The organisers were up against it in terms of timelines, so the focus was on being ready to provide a smooth and safe experience. With its debut out of the way, the Madring can start thinking about elevating the fan experience in general.

Some fan zones and general admission areas looked sparse and rough around the edges. Designers copied Monza's sprawling podium overlooking the main straight, but weren't able or confident to allow for a typical Italian GP style track invasion for fans to actually be part of the celebration. As shown by incidents at other races, a track invasion is not easy to pull off, so it's understandable why organisers have been prudent in year one.

Only few fans were able to take part in the podium celebrations as organisers played it safe in year one.

Both on and off the track, there are plenty of opportunities for the Madring to step up its game, and its 10-year contract is giving it the breathing room to do so and become a beloved part of the calendar.

"This is the first step," the race's managing director Luis Garcia Abad told Motorsport.com after the race. "We had a big success in terms of public and hospitality, and now we have a lot of ideas for the next few years.

"We have the space, we have a venue, we have the facilities, we have the capacity to do it. I'm sure that FOM, FIA, and ourselves, we will try. If we can improve something, we will do it."

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Five ways F1 can fix the Madring for next year&#39;s Spanish GP