The demand to stage a Formula 1 race has almost never been higher with the growth Grand Prix racing is enjoying yet one race due to join the calendar is now in jeopardy.
F1 is frequently fielding calls from countries keen to join the schedule, with plans to head to possibly Rwanda or South Africa and back to Argentina amongst the more recent to emerge. F1 has not raced in Africa in over 30 years but it is one market that the series often explores.
Likewise, Argentina last held a Formula 1 race in 1998. Yet the instant popularity that Franco Colapinto enjoyed as a stand-in driver with Williams in 2024 saw the Argentine government speak with F1 about staging a Grand Prix again. Colapinto is now a reserve driver for Alpine.
F1’s plans to move the Spanish Grand Prix from Barcelona to Madrid face fresh doubts
Even cities in the same country are fighting to get onto the Formula 1 calendar – and Madrid won its fight with Barcelona to stage the Spanish Grand Prix last year. But Auto Action (Issue 1904, p32) now reports that there are fresh doubts about the Spanish GP moving to Madrid.
The IFEMA exhibition centre and Formula 1 agreed a 10-year contract in January 2024 which will see the Spanish GP move from Barcelona to Madrid through until at least 2035. It is also the aim for a capacity of 110,000 to be at the first Spanish GP in Madrid in September 2026.
READ MORE: Five unforgettable Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona including Senna vs Mansell
Yet, despite representatives for the Madrid Grand Prix visiting the 2024 Qatar GP to try and ease Formula 1’s concerns, fresh doubts have emerged that bring into question the funding for the semi-permanent 5.5km (3.4m) circuit near the Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suarez airport.
Madrid’s Mayor has also announced delays to the tender process that put plans to move the Spanish GP from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first time since the 1990 edition at Jerez further behind. It is possible that Madrid will only start building a track in May 2026.
Madrid Grand Prix could face the same fate as the never-seen Vietnamese Grand Prix
Formula 1 will race in Spain no matter what in 2026 as the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is still under contract for next year, meaning the 2025 Spanish GP may not be the last running at the Montmelo track. Circuit chiefs even remain hopeful of keeping the race in Barcelona.
The fresh doubts surrounding the viability of a Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid come amid the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya camp hoping the IFEMA exhibition centre’s plans collapse. It is also hoped that the Spanish GP can stay in Barcelona through until the end of the decade.
READ MORE: The most successful drivers at the F1 Spanish GP of all time and in Barcelona
Formula 1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali was very excited about the Spanish Grand Prix moving from Barcelona to Madrid when F1 revealed the plans. But he could fear it faces the same fate as the Vietnamese Grand Prix, which was set to debut in 2020 yet it never did.
Domenicali noted: “They have presented a fascinating project, one that will be built in the next couple of years and a project that is considering the fans and their whole experience, from their travel to the whole event experience.”
Formula 1’s owners Liberty Media announced plans for a Vietnamese GP in November 2018 as the first new race after the series changed hands from Bernie Ecclestone’s reign. Yet the Covid-19 pandemic meant the first Vietnamese GP in 2020 was cancelled and never revived.
The 5.6km (3.4m) Hanoi Circuit cost a massive £540m to build, only to never be seen in real life outside of the F1 2020 video game by Codemasters. It would have even seen Formula 1 receive £54m a year but the site for the Vietnamese GP is now just a relic of unused tarmac.
With fears regarding the funding and the fresh delays for the Madrid Grand Prix, the IFEMA exhibition centre’s hopes of stealing the Spanish GP from Barcelona may face the same fate. If it does, then F1 will lose £41.5m a year with Madrid’s 10-year contract also worth £415m.
