The Madrid Grand Prix
A brand-new street-and-park circuit brings F1 to the Spanish capital for the first time — September 11–13, 2026
The Madrid Grand Prix debuts September 11–13, 2026, on Madring, a purpose-built 5.4km, 22-turn circuit constructed within and around the IFEMA exhibition grounds in Madrid's Barajas district — the 81st different track to host a Formula 1 race, and the sixth venue in Spanish F1 history after Jarama, Jerez, Montjuïc, Pedralbes and Barcelona-Catalunya. This is a genuinely new circuit on the calendar, not a returning one, which means no accumulated track history to draw on for how the racing will actually play out.
Quick facts
The circuit
Madring mixes closed public roads with private land around the IFEMA halls, with a layout built for a mix of slow, medium and high-speed corners rather than one dominant characteristic. With a capacity of 110,000 (expandable to 140,000) and parts of the paddock built indoors using IFEMA's existing halls, it's designed at a genuinely large scale from the start, unlike many street circuits that grow into their infrastructure over years.
Getting there
The circuit sits within Madrid's city limits near Barajas, close to Madrid-Barajas Airport itself and well connected to central Madrid by the city's metro and rail network — a genuinely easier logistics picture than street circuits built in more constrained historic centers.
A first-year event
As a debut race, expect some first-year growing pains alongside the novelty — traffic management, food/vendor logistics and crowd flow are all things established circuits have refined over years that Madrid will be working out in real time. That's often part of the appeal for early attendees, but worth going in with realistic expectations rather than assuming veteran-circuit polish.
Practical tips
- —Book tickets and accommodation well ahead — debut Grands Prix in major capital cities tend to sell out quickly on novelty alone, on top of Madrid's existing appeal as a destination.
- —The circuit's proximity to Madrid-Barajas Airport is a genuine convenience — check whether race-weekend transport plans (shuttles, road closures) affect a same-day arrival or departure.
- —As a first-year event, verify current logistics info (gates, transport, on-site facilities) close to race weekend rather than relying on assumptions carried over from other circuits.
- —Combine the race with standard Madrid sightseeing (the Prado, Retiro Park, tapas culture) — this isn't a circuit in an isolated location requiring a special trip of its own.