Madrid will change Barcelona as host of the Spanish Grand Prix from 2026.
The race will run on a brand new 5.47km (3.399-mile) circuit across the Ifema exhibition centre between the Spanish capital and Barajas airport.
Method 1, which is aiming to cut back its greenhouse fuel emissions to web zero by 2030, says it is going to be “one of many calendar’s most accessible races”.
A press release stated 90% of followers would be capable to journey to the race through public transport on metro and practice strains.
The deal, which runs till 2035, means Madrid might be host of the nation’s grand prix for the primary time since 1981, when the Jarama circuit, 20 miles north of the capital, final held the occasion.
It has been held on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya since 1991, and was at Jerez in Andalucia from 1986-1990. The Spanish Grand Prix was first held in 1913, making it one of many oldest races.
F1 stays in discussions with Barcelona concerning the future and the likelihood stays for it to host a race along with Madrid, F1 president and chief government officer Stefano Domenicali stated.
The brand new Madrid monitor, which may have 20 corners, will incorporate each street-circuit and road-course sections, F1 stated.
It stated it might be capable to host 110,000 followers a day initially with plans to develop the capability to 140,000. This might make it one of many largest venues on the F1 calendar.
After a interval when curiosity declined on the finish of the final decade, F1 has skilled a renaissance in Spain lately.
This may be attributed to the return to the game of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, a nationwide hero, after a two-year break in 2019 and 2020, and Carlos Sainz’s presence as a front-runner with the Ferrari staff.
Sainz was the one driver not in a Crimson Bull to win a race in 2023, when he triumphed within the Singapore Grand Prix.
Domenicali stated on Tuesday: “Madrid is an unimaginable metropolis with wonderful sporting and cultural heritage and at this time’s announcement begins an thrilling new chapter for F1 in Spain.”
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem described the race as “an attractive prospect”, including: “As we construct in direction of the introduction of the FIA 2026 Method 1 rules, which have been framed with net-zero carbon by 2030 in thoughts, it’s pleasing to see that the native organisers have positioned a pointy concentrate on environmental sustainability.”
Domenicali stated Madrid’s “incredible proposal really epitomises F1’s imaginative and prescient to create a multi-day spectacle of sport and leisure that delivers most worth for followers and embraces innovation and sustainability”.