The ‘Madring’ logistics challenge: long distances, plenty of space and everything new

“Everything’s so huge here” was probably the most frequently heard phrase at the Madring over the weekend. Indeed, the paddock at the new circuit in north-east Madrid is something quite special: there’s more than enough space on the circuit grounds near Barajas Airport.

The Madring circuit was, in fact, partly built on an exhibition site. Consequently, several exhibition halls were also used to house the Formula 1 teams. Most teams’ lorries – which are usually parked at the rear of the garage every race weekend, effectively at the back of the pit lane – were parked in several huge halls (although some teams also had their lorries parked outside). We journalists were also housed in an exhibition hall, where our press centre was located. Consequently, the distances between the press centre, the garages and the teams’ hospitality areas – which were situated in yet another corner of the site because the multi-storey buildings wouldn’t have fitted inside the halls – were quite long.

Viel Platz drumherum! In Madrid standen die meisten Trucks in Messehallen

Foto: XPB

We certainly did a lot of walking over the Madring weekend; everyone clocked up their kilometres diligently throughout the day. Comparing step counts became a daily competition (40,000 steps was the record, as far as I know!). However, this setup – with large exhibition halls and plenty of space – actually sounds like a dream scenario for the teams and their logistics staff: Plenty of space for all the temporary structures needed for a race weekend, and for the set-up work – a world of difference to Monaco, where everything is so crammed together that hardly anything fits into the paddock and the trucks’ entry and exit have to be strictly timed. Or does it?

Madrid presented a different challenge

SPEEDWEEK.com asked Ed Hemsworth, who manages logistics for Red Bull Racing as Race Team Coordinator. Hemsworth on the debut at the Madrid circuit: “It’s definitely been a different challenge here. We’ve done Monaco so many times that we know how it works. It’s always more difficult when you arrive somewhere you’ve never been before.”

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The circuit in Madrid has been completely rebuilt and was only completed a few weeks before the first Grand Prix there. Many journalists and teams used the Barcelona race in mid-June as an opportunity to pop over to Madrid. Hemsworth was one of them: “I was here after the race in Barcelona and had a look round everything. It all looked completely different to how it does now.” At that point, the circuit was still a building site.

Fairness takes precedence over space

Hemsworth: “We’d have loved to bring all our lorries in and would have had more space, but it has to be fair between all the teams and every team must have the same amount of space.” There was plenty of empty space in the halls – but it has to be fair, after all. Later on, all sorts of seating areas and food trucks were added to the teams’ areas in the halls.

Hemsworth: “We’ve definitely learnt a lot for next year. It’s always the little things you pick up, like, for example, trucks that you could have parked the other way round to make it easier to get them out on Sunday – things like that. Fortunately, this time we don’t have the rush to leave the circuit because we’re at the end of a double-header. But every circuit has its challenges and advantages.”

With the release of the new calendar, it is now also clear that in 2027 Madrid will once again take place after Monza and will once more mark the conclusion of a double-header and the European leg of the season.