Spanish GP moving to Madrid street circuit

[mario]

There had been a few rumours floating around that Liberty Media were looking at moving the Spanish GP to a new venue, and now it has been confirmed that a new street circuit in Madrid will be joining the calendar in 2026, with a ten year deal signed with the Ifema Madrid group (the consortium which put together the proposal for a circuit in Madrid).

Although there has been no official statement on what will happen to the Circuit de Catalunya, given that their contract to hold the Spanish Grand Prix apparently expires at the end of 2025, it's strongly implied that this new circuit in Madrid is replacing the Circuit de Catalunya (i.e. it is a straight swap, rather than being added as an additional race to the calendar). https://www.racefans.net/2024/01/23/new ... r-in-2026/

[Row Man Gross-Gene]

There had been a few rumours floating around that Liberty Media were looking at moving the Spanish GP to a new venue, and now it has been confirmed that a new street circuit in Madrid will be joining the calendar in 2026, with a ten year deal signed with the Ifema Madrid group (the consortium which put together the proposal for a circuit in Madrid).

Although there has been no official statement on what will happen to the Circuit de Catalunya, given that their contract to hold the Spanish Grand Prix apparently expires at the end of 2025, it's strongly implied that this new circuit in Madrid is replacing the Circuit de Catalunya (i.e. it is a straight swap, rather than being added as an additional race to the calendar). https://www.racefans.net/2024/01/23/new ... r-in-2026/

I know I'm one of the people who's happy about more races, but could we please stop it with new street tracks? We have enough already. No more, they don't work (generally speaking) for good racing with big F1 cars. In fact, how about, for every new street track, you must remove a previous street track and replace it with a proper circuit?

[noiceinmydrink]

Frankly I'm kinda glad this has got more people and media outlets to talk about how excessive these street tracks are - years now I've felt like I'm banging my head against a wall or preaching to a small choir talking about how much I hate these dimeadozen, medicore, soulless circuits.

Other than that, wretched news.

[Ataxia]

I'd probably agree that the street circuit phase is probably getting a little excessive, but it's at the expense of Barcelona so I can let this one slide...

If Suzuka was to lose the Japanese GP to an Osaka street race, however, then I think all hell would break loose.

[Jarvis]

What Formula 1 is trying to do? Are they trying to be Formula E?

[noiceinmydrink]

If it's a half street/half permo affair like Melbourne or Montreal I probably wouldn't mind that much. And going by the sim Williams put out it doesn't look too bad (apart from the disgraceful kink in the middle of the lap where if someone goes off they're going to hit a barrier head on at 90 degrees at top speed).

I just like to be able to see a circuit and be able to tell where the hell it is. Saudi, Las Vegas, Singapore et al all just look the same, computer generated nothing. I remember Singapore looking spectacular when I first saw it in 2008 and now it looks the same as half the calendar these days!

[mario]

If it's a half street/half permo affair like Melbourne or Montreal I probably wouldn't mind that much. And going by the sim Williams put out it doesn't look too bad (apart from the disgraceful kink in the middle of the lap where if someone goes off they're going to hit a barrier head on at 90 degrees at top speed).

I just like to be able to see a circuit and be able to tell where the hell it is. Saudi, Las Vegas, Singapore et al all just look the same, computer generated nothing. I remember Singapore looking spectacular when I first saw it in 2008 and now it looks the same as half the calendar these days!

The circuit has been described as using "both public roads and private land", so apparently "some sections are set to feel more like a street circuit and others more like a permanent set-up".

That does suggest the circuit could be somewhat like Melbourne or Montreal in nature - however, some fans might find it a bit less auspicious that the Formula 1 website compared it to the circuit in Miami in terms of being a mixture of temporary and permanent roads.

What Formula 1 is trying to do? Are they trying to be Formula E?

Liberty Media has talked about having more street circuits as part of the idea of using the race as a "tent pole" event, which supports other events taking place alongside it (e.g. music concerts) - in which case, it makes sense to have those races in a city that has the infrastructure to sustain those side events. In this case, it seems that the organisers also have a joint interest in promoting that particular part of Madrid as a hub for sports events, particularly as Real Madrid appear to be moving at least part of their activities out that way too.

[noiceinmydrink]

Liberty Media has talked about having more street circuits as part of the idea of using the race as a "tent pole" event, which supports other events taking place alongside it (e.g. music concerts) - in which case, it makes sense to have those races in a city that has the infrastructure to sustain those side events. In this case, it seems that the organisers also have a joint interest in promoting that particular part of Madrid as a hub for sports events, particularly as Real Madrid appear to be moving at least part of their activities out that way too.

In that case FOM, move the British GP to Donington and let's have it twinned with the Download festival. Do it you cowards!

[Wallio]

CART/Champ Car proved in the early 2000s, that this is actually a net gain.......in the very short term. Cities/promoters will pay big bucks to have a "party where a race breaks out" (actual CART quote), you don't need an actual track, and people usually do attend.....and then 3 or 4 years later it's dead and buried and you find another. If Liberty/FOM was just expanding the calendar with street tracks and rotating them through in the same 3/4/5 slots, sure whatever. But dropping proper tracks (imagine saying that about Barcelona ten years ago!) is very dumb.