F1 adds Madrid street race to calendar from 2026،
Madrid will host a Formula One street race from 2026, it was announced on Tuesday, leaving a question mark over the future of the existing Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
The last F1 event in Madrid was held in 1981 at a purpose-built circuit in Jarama, but its new venue will be a 5.47km circuit stretching around the city's Ifema exhibition centre.
F1 has confirmed it has signed a 10-year deal with the Madrid event, which will include a purpose-built paddock in the heart of the city.
Assuming other races remain in place, it will become the ninth street race on the calendar alongside Monaco and the new Las Vegas Grand Prix.
“Madrid is an incredible city with an incredible sporting and cultural heritage, and today's announcement opens an exciting new chapter for F1 in Spain,” said F1 President Stefano Domenicali.
F1 is reportedly in ongoing discussions with Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya over its own deal, which runs until 2025, and has made it clear the race could continue alongside Madrid.
F1 has already held two races in Spain – the immense popularity of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso helped create the short-lived European Grand Prix in Valencia between 2008 and 2012.
Ferrari's Alonso and Carlos Sainz, born and raised in Madrid, are two of the sport's most popular drivers.
Alonso won the world championships in 2005 and 2006 and is credited with a boom in popularity for F1 in Spain, which traditionally favors motorcycle racing.
The street circuit racing trend in F1 is growing: new races in Saudi Arabia, Miami and Las Vegas all take place on a street layout, which features limited run-off areas and walls around the edge of the road. the track, although the Qatar Grand Prix has joined the calendar with a conventional circuit in 2021.
The championship is still exploring options for a race in Africa, the only continent not represented on the calendar.
The F1 calendar is already set for a record 24 events in 2024, the maximum that can be staged under the Concorde Agreement, although this maximum may be increased when the commercial deal is renegotiated with the teams in 2026.
