The Spanish Grand Prix will return to the country’s capital Madrid in 2026 after signing a ten-year contract, which leaves the rival Barcelona venue fighting to remain on the calendar. While Barcelona may have lost the hosting rights discussions are on-going with the Catalan government and the circuit for what could be called the Catalan Grand Prix.
The 5.47km circuit will be a hybrid street circuit similar to Montreal, will be built around the IFEMA fairgrounds and convention centre located to the north-east of the city. Still subject to FIA approval, the track will feature twenty corners, with a predicted lap time of 1m32s. It will have what F1 calls a “premium” paddock building.
Well-served by public transport, the venue will initially have a capacity of 110,000, which will be increased to 140,000 over the first half of the contract. Owned by a consortium of public bodies, the city council of Madrid (31%), the regional administration of the community of Madrid (31%), the Madrid Chamber of Commerce (31%) and the Montemadrid Foundation (7%), and thus the local authorities are fully behind the F1 project.
F1, which is aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2030, says it will be “one of the calendar’s most accessible races”. A statement said 90% of fans would be able to travel to the race via public transport on metro and train lines.
Madrid will host a Grand Prix for the first time since 1981 when the race was held at Jarama circuit, twenty miles north of the capital, last held the event. It has been held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya since 1991, and was at Jerez in Andalucía from 1986-1990. The Spanish Grand Prix was first held in 1913, making it one of the oldest races.
The Catalan region which has hosted the most Spanish Grands Prix could still remain on the calendar in a similar arrangement to the US and Italy which has multiple races.
The twenty-corner circuits layout hasn’t been announced yet, but it will have twenty corners, will incorporate both street-circuit and road-course sections, F1 said. It said it would be able to host 110,000 fans a day initially with plans to expand the capacity to 140,000. This would make it one of the largest venues on the F1 calendar.
The past two decades has seen the sport grow in Spain though there was a brief dip in 2010s, that’s down to two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, a national hero, after a two-year break in 2019 and 2020, and Carlos Sainz’s presence as a front-runner with the Ferrari team. Sainz was the only driver not in a Red Bull to win a race in 2023, when he triumphed in the Singapore Grand Prix.
F1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali said on Tuesday: “Madrid is an incredible city with amazing sporting and cultural heritage and today’s announcement begins an exciting new chapter for F1 in Spain.”
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem described the race as “an enticing prospect”, adding: “As we build towards the introduction of the FIA 2026 Formula 1 regulations, which have been framed with net-zero carbon by 2030 in mind, it is pleasing to see that the local organisers have placed a sharp focus on environmental sustainability.”
Domenicali said Madrid’s “fantastic proposal truly epitomises F1’s vision to create a multi-day spectacle of sport and entertainment that delivers maximum value for fans and embraces innovation and sustainability”.
President of the Madrid region Isabel Diaz Ayuso, says that the race will generate around £400m in GDP for the region and create 8,200 jobs. Adding “The Community of Madrid is a region with a great international projection, open, plural, and competitive, and F1 will contribute to further consolidate the Madrid brand among the best in the world.”
City mayor Jose Luis Martínez-Almeida added: “We know that F1 is more than a race, it is an unprecedented opportunity to drive the transformation that Madrid is undergoing, and to show the world what we are capable of.”
