Madring safety in the spotlight ahead of F1 debut

Formula 1’s first visit to the Madring, with its tricky pit exit, La Monumental banked corner and tight corners, has the F1 drivers both excited and cautious.

The new Madring circuit hosts this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, the first new circuit since Las Vegas in 2023.

Formula 1 drivers assess the challenges of the new Madring circuit

An amalgamation of a street circuit and a purpose-built track, the Madring includes 22 corners, one of which is Formula 1’s longest banked corner – La Monumental, but that’s only the beginning of the challenge.

It is a track that caught out the Formula 3 drivers during a recent two-day test, which to date is the only significant running on the new circuit. There were 19 red flags over the course of two days.

Aside from the Ferrari drivers, who did a filming day at the Madring, none of the other F1 drivers have any experience of the new Spanish track.

And they are wary.

“In some places, when you have a tiny moment, it can result in a crash,” Max Verstappen told PlanetF1.com and other accredited media.

“But Jeddah is the same. You just have to deal with it, try to figure out the margins, and try to keep it under control.

“But, of course, when you’re on the limit, it’s easy to make a little mistake. But let’s just see how the weekend goes.”

Fernando Alonso also compared the track to Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah circuit.

“I think the track seems difficult, first of all, to learn, very technical, a lot of kerb riding and a couple of high-speed sections where you need to get very close to the walls, which is very attractive and very high adrenaline for a driver,” he said.

“Close to Jeddah, I think, some sections. I’m looking forward to FP1 and learning the track from the car and discovering all these details that always change a little bit the perception of what you came with, an idea, from the simulator.

“I think the grip level will be probably the biggest thing for me. If the track is dusty and too dirty at the beginning, that masks a little bit the learning process and, in a way, the fun of it, because you are just taking a lot of risk and unwanted risk because the car is not really responding to your inputs. And then you only get to quali and the race when the track is in a good place.

“I think we have a very good weekend in front of us as a show for everyone else.

“Regarding the quali and the race, I think all the street circuits are rewarding more quali. I struggle to believe that the race on Sunday will be better than the quali on Saturday in terms of, rewarding and driver feeling. This year Sundays sometimes are fun as well to watch because this battery championship, you just overtake.”

Lando Norris says although the drivers have all driven the circuit in the simulator, it is not the same as being out on the track.

“I think just the main thing you always lack on a simulator is just the speed sensation. You know, also the fear of a street circuit.

“Of course, the biggest question is is grip, and grip allows you to have a lot of confidence or very little. So that’s the biggest question straight away.”

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Meanwhile, Sergio Perez says that while the Madring is scary, he doesn’t believe it is at Jeddah’s level of danger.

“It’s a proper race-track from what I’ve seen,” he said. “I haven’t been on the circuit yet, but from what I’ve seen on the simulator, it’s a proper track, and it’s a bit scary.

“I’ll say it’s a bit like reminds me a bit of Jeddah. Good proper track. I don’t think there is a place more dangerous than Jeddah.

“I think Jeddah is quite dangerous. So I don’t think Madrid itself will be something like out of the level, you know. Nobody knows. We have to wait and see.”

As for Nico Hulkenberg, he has no safety concerns – at least “not yet.

“Well, at the moment, it’s definitely intense. It’s high speeds, and I think it’s unforgiving. If you make a mistake, you know, the walls are all very close. There isn’t a lot of runoff area.

“I think we have a very good marshaling system in place. As soon as something happens, and now also with that, you know, with the mirroring system, if something happens further up, already two, three panels further in front there’s a warning. So I think we’re well covered on that side.

“But it’s definitely a track that you know is going to be challenging and where incidents might happen.”

Pierre Gasly is putting his “money on the red flag, that’s for sure.

“Driving wise, I must say in the sim it was very enjoyable and very exciting. I got a good read and feel of pretty much every single wall at every single corner, so, actually, I know what to do and what not to do.”

Williams driver Alex Albon warned that several corners would force the drivers to commit to a line before they can even see the apex.

“You’re kind of swinging in from a blind spot and you’ve got to try and pick an imaginary spot that’s a few hundred meters in front of you,” he said.

“That’s really challenging to do. It’s a lot of repetition and muscle memory just to get that timing right. Because you basically can’t see an apex. So now you’re just using your internal body clock and almost imaginary, you’re trying to focus on a reference point or something to know what’s your apex point of that corner.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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