Madring: Chaos and red flags on the horizon; drivers must be extremely careful

On 11 September, from 1.30 pm, the first free practice session for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix will take place at the new Madrid circuit. The Grand Prix stars must brace themselves for a wild ride.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says of the Madring: “If a driver makes a mistake, he needs to know – it’ll cost him dearly. The Madring is a difficult circuit, with numerous tricky sections.”

The up-and-coming Formula 3 talents found this out the hard way recently. As a trial run for Formula 1, an information session for F3 cars took place on 24–25 August, during which the session had to be interrupted 19 times by red flags! Three of the cars’ safety cells were damaged, and six suspension failures were recorded.

Williams team principal James Vowles notes: “In the simulation, we soon realised that the centrifugal forces in the long, banked La Monumental corner are immense; this will put drivers and cars to the test for almost five seconds. No other corner on any F1 circuit is like it.”

Commenting on the crash and damage figures from Formula 3, the Briton says: “It looks as though the track is a car-crusher. It’s not entirely clear how the heavier Formula 1 cars will react to these stresses.”

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Carlos Sainz is more cautious about his home circuit: “What happened at the end of August is just an initial snapshot. Of course, adjustments can be made following a test like that – for example, by slightly altering the design of the kerbs.”