The Madring gives me the ick

Is the Madring already beyond saving? The new home of F1’s Spanish Grand Prix did not make a good first impression last weekend.

Like many of the modern street circuits, the Madrid track – which signed a 10-year contract to join the F1 calendar in 2024 – lacks that special something every city-based race needs: character.

The Madring: A forgettable circuit for a forgettable F1 season

A version of this article originally appeared in PlanetF1.com’s conclusions from the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix

It was with some regret that F1 bid farewell to the Dutch Grand Prix last month.

In a season in which the sport has changed beyond recognition as a result of the new regulations, it felt necessary to hold Zandvoort just a little tighter this year.

For all the complaints that F1 had long since outgrown the place, every year the Dutch Grand Prix seemed to hit the right note and capture everything good about motor racing.

With Zandvoort gone, so another little fragment of Formula 1’s DNA was lost.

There has been far too much of that in 2026.

Yet times change, as they say, and what do we have now as the beloved racetracks of old are gradually replaced by the new?

Another street circuit. Another identikit street circuit. This time in Madrid.

A forgettable circuit for a forgettable season; yet another reason to question where exactly modern F1 is heading.

The one redeeming feature of the Madring? La Monumental.

How tragic, though, for such a spectacular sight to be reduced to a charging station thanks to the delights of the 2026 engines.

You can see clearly where the layout has been inspired by the likes of Jeddah, Baku, Miami and even, er… Sochi.

That, combined with the fact that there is no overtaking opportunity of note in this weirdly deserted-looking corner of the Spanish capital, is the problem.

Hold the race under floodlights and this circuit could easily have been mistaken for Jeddah.

And what exactly is it, other than the time zone and the one decent corner, that separates this track from Miami?

What makes it distinctive? What makes it Madrid?

This is an issue because the very best street circuits all ooze character.

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There is a reason why Monaco remains undroppable even though most people seem to have fallen out of love with it by now; why Singapore remains the standout of the many street circuits to have been added to the calendar over the last two decades.

Las Vegas, the last new addition to the calendar in 2023, is not perfect either. But there is no denying that the place has personality.

Perhaps it is too early to write off Madring, soulless as it may seem at first glance. Let’s try and be generous.

This circuit evidently has the potential to produce classic races in the years to come even if the flat first edition was reminiscent of Baku’s debut in 2016, when it seemed the drivers recognised the potential for chaos and agreed among themselves not to do anything stupid.

Those truces tend not to last much beyond the first year.

Maybe, as with most things in 2026, it is unwise to leap to too many conclusions given the unusual circumstances of this season.

Maybe, when Formula 1 cars revert to being more like something people can recognise, Madrid will demonstrate that it holds a special place on the calendar too.

Maybe, with a few adjustments for 2027, there is a great circuit here just waiting to break out.

Or maybe not.

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