Having been made an ambassador of the circuit, Fernando Alonso has vowed that Barcelona will continue to host a Formula 1 race in the future despite the arrival of the Madrid GP.

Spain will host two races in 2026 but many anticipate it to be the last season we see the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as the old venue gives way to the new money of Madrid.

Fernando Alonso sends Barcelona boast in Spanish GP prediction

Carlos Sainz has been promoting the Madrid GP which will run around the FEMA Madrid exhibition centre in the Barajas district of Spain’s capital but the other Spaniard on the grid has raised hopes that the race in Madrid does not mean the death of Barcelona.

Speaking to Mundo Deportivo having been named an ambassador of the circuit, Alonso was confident it would still be on the F1 calendar in the future.

“The announcement above all is that I’m going to be an ambassador for the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, something I’m very excited about,” he said. “It’s something we’ve also been talking about and have been planning since February. When I went there to do a test, we talked about the possibility and kept it more or less a secret until this week of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix.

“I think we need to maintain traditions a bit or mix it up, right? I think Formula 1 is in a good place right now, but the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with the renovation it underwent two years ago and this past year, is also going in that direction, modernizing a bit and not wanting to compete with the circuits in the Middle East or these urban circuits, because it’s a different concept. So, to be prepared for a Formula 1 that’s currently in good condition, the circuit should be prepared as well.

“As I say, for drivers, having facilities that you can use 365 days a year, where you can go and train, where you can learn your set-up, where you can have everything under your belt, is important, and it’s something that has always happened at the circuit, with the winter tests and everything that was done there. I think Formula 1 and the circuit go hand in hand.

“The circuit wouldn’t exist if there hadn’t been so many Formula 1 tests and so many anecdotes that happened there. And Formula 1 too, without the circuit over the last two decades, would be crippled, because we’ve done more laps there than anywhere else in the world.”

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As for why he wanted the circuit to remain, he said it was the first place he saw “Alonsomania” with him being the only World Champion to hail from the country.

“It’s something I’m excited about because that was the first time I truly saw ‘Alonsomania’,” he recalled.

“It was the first time I saw the stands full of blue, with the Asturian flag, the first time I saw that flood of people going up to the circuit in 2005, although in 2003 it was already starting to be seen, and many of the fond memories I have of my career and sharing with the Spanish fans all happened at the circuit, so I have a strong emotional connection with those moments and now I hope I can pass it on to future generations and help this sport grow in Spain.”

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