Crucial Madring information revealed ahead of Formula 1’s Madrid debut
Madring circuit in its final stages of building
Pirelli has revealed a crucial piece of information ahead of Formula 1’s inaugural visit to the Madring, with F1’s tyre supplier expecting loads similar to Silverstone and Spa.
Formula 1 heads to Spain’s capital city of Madrid for round 14 of the F1 2026 championship.
Pirelli compares Madrid tyre loads to Silverstone and Spa
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Utilising a layout that blends permanent racetrack and public roads, the new Madrid track comprises 22 corners in a blend of slow, medium and fast, and then there’s the banked corner.
‘La Monumental’, as it has been dubbed, is long, banked right-hander that is the longest of its kind in Formula 1, with drivers continuously turning right for 550 metres at a 24 per cent banked gradient.
The track also features long straights to create overtaking opportunities, with major elevation changes to add to the spectacle.
But aside from Ferrari, none of the teams have ever turned a wheel at the circuit.
Earlier this month Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc took to the all-new layout ahead of its F1 debut, using one of Ferrari’s ‘filming’ days to christen the Madring.
Leclerc told PlanetF1.com and other media of ‘La Monumental’: “A very special corner.
“It’s a corner where I feel in qualifying, we’ll have to… I will say it in a polite way… but we’ll have to be very brave because it’s going to be on the limit,” he said.
He added: “Yes, I do believe it can become one of the most iconic corners of the season, especially once the grandstand will be built, that will also add to the experience of the corner.
The mix of slow corners, fast corners, long straights, and a banked corner, poses a conundrum not only for the set-up of the cars, but also the compounds for Pirelli.
More on the Madring from PlanetF1.com
Ferrari christens all-new F1 circuit ahead of September debut
According to Pirelli’s analysis, the loads at Madrid are likely to resemble those seen at circuits such as Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps.
F1’s tyre manufacturer has therefore selected the medium range of its compounds.
Pirelli’s statement read: “Our analysis of the Madring indicates that the loads acting on the tyres are comparable to those seen at circuits such as Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps.
“The choice of the medium range is therefore intended, based on the characteristics of the track, to favour a two-stop strategy and provide greater protection against the risk of excessive overheating in the event of high temperatures, a situation to which the softest compound in the range would be more susceptible.”
The tyre compound selections for the Spanish Grand Prix, round 14 of the F1 2026 calendar, will be Pirelli’s medium range of C2, C3 and C4.
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