Madrid vow changes after 'boring' Madring debut splits F1 opinion

A debut weekend of drama and division

Formula One's newest circuit — the hybrid of roads and purpose-built track known as the Madring, wrapped around the Ifema exhibition centre near Madrid's international airport — made its long-awaited debut at the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend. It was a debut that divided opinion like few venues in recent memory: breathtaking in practice, underwhelming in the race, and already facing changes for next year.

Organisers of the Spanish Grand Prix are poised to make changes to the new circuit after criticism of its inaugural race, with drivers pointing to a lack of overtaking opportunities. At the same time, team bosses were unanimous in praising the event itself, leaving the Madrid project with work to do on track and plenty of cause for celebration off it.

'This circuit is mental': first contact is brutal

The tone for a punishing weekend was set on day one of action, when Formula Two driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak careered into the barriers at turn 19, his car spinning rearward at high speed and bursting into flames before he scrambled out in short order. Watching from the Mercedes motorhome, George Russell — who had previously described the Madring as the "most risky" circuit on the calendar — was stunned.

"Oh wow. This circuit is mental," Russell said.

Russell argued the Madring posed an even sterner test than Monaco, because of the combination of fast corners and the angles of the barriers on exit.

"I would put this as a circuit that has less margin, purely because of the speed. In Monaco the walls are closer but because you're going slower – if you make a mistake you're not into the wall as quickly, and you can recover it sometimes. It's more lock-up. Here, there's less margin," he said. "You see at this barrier, it's kind of like coming back on to the track. So if you are to go wide and hit the wall, you're not hitting it at the same angle as the car is going. The car is going towards the wall but the wall is sort of coming in."

The danger was underscored by a recent Formula 3 test at the circuit in which there were 19 red flags and three cars suffered broken chassis. "They're Formula 3 drivers, but it's a track that kills cars," said Williams team principal James Vowles — a figure Russell said he was surprised was as low as 19 red flags. Lewis Hamilton echoed the concern: "It's a massively challenging circuit. Of all the new tracks I've gone to, this one, maybe Saudi, are the two closest in terms of how difficult it was to get on top of the car and find the right lines."

There was at least cause for optimism after first practice, with the hour-long session passing without a stoppage and the walls receiving only delicate glances at best. Russell topped the timesheets for Mercedes ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli, who leads the Briton by 66 points in the world championship. In the second session, however, Britain's Arvid Lindblad lost the rear of his Racing Bulls car at turn 13 and slewed sideways into the barriers in another heavy impact, though he emerged unhurt. The red flag halted the session, but it resumed with Antonelli on top from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Hamilton.

Spectacle, banking and a slice of history

The Madring certainly delivers spectacle: a narrow lap flanked by walls, fast corners and its signature La Monumental — a 550-metre stretch of 13.5-degree banking, around which the cars accelerate to great effect, compressing into the track amid an amphitheatre of grandstands before heading over a blind crest and barrelling downwards out of the corner. There is a little history here too: turn eight — "El Bunker" — is named for two bunkers built in 1936 by Republican forces to protect Madrid during the Spanish civil war, their preservation a condition of the track being built.

The circuit lacks Monaco's backdrop, flanked instead by the large, grey square boxes beloved of convention centres, and some areas remain somewhat building-site-esque. But what matters is in place, and for the fans it is but a 20-minute subway ride from the city. Indeed, delivering the venue at all was no little feat given objections over costs, construction and complaints about sound levels exceeding legal limits.

Overtaking? 'You can't really go for it'

From the start, the biggest question hanging over the Madring concerned the racing itself. Max Verstappen noted that the main braking zones — turns five, eight and 17 — are angled, making passing all but impossible.

"You can't really go for an overtake because you're braking but you're steering either right or left, which is the worst thing you can do for creating an overtaking opportunity," the four-time world champion said.

Those fears proved well founded on Sunday. After the race, Williams' Alex Albon claimed the grand prix was "pretty boring", while Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto said he "almost fell asleep". World champion Lando Norris, denied victory for McLaren by the unfortunate timing of a virtual safety car, said one section was "useless" and that it was "not a great racetrack".

"There are some obvious changes they should make. They should get rid of [Turns] 18, 19 – useless. Just have more of a straight into a hairpin. I don't know how someone looks at this design and goes, 'mint.' There's a lot of opportunity. They can make it into a track that's good for racing, and I'm excited to come back here next year if they can make these changes because I think it's a track that is good fun to drive and it can be a great racetrack," Norris said.

Race winner Kimi Antonelli agreed.

"It definitely doesn't create overtaking opportunities and it doesn't push you to try and make a move because 80% of the time you might have a contact. There are some corners that need to be changed to create more overtaking opportunities because right now, yes, it's nice over one lap, but for sure in the race you're just stuck behind," he said.

Team bosses hail the event

Off the track, however, the verdict was glowing. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur called the event "mega".

"First, I have to say that we can discuss about overtaking, but overall, for me, the event was mega. The infrastructure, we were mega welcome in the city. We have also to be fair with them and to congratulate Madrid for the job done on this side. They are keen to do modifications in the future. They have probably more latitude in Madrid than in Monaco to change something. Let's work together to see if we can do something. But overall, I think we have to be fair with them. It was a good effort," Vasseur said.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was similarly complimentary.

"For a first [race], it's probably one of the best, or maybe the best, that I've seen so far. It's a temporary circuit. They've built something that is challenging for the drivers. A mini Macau or a mini Monaco. The location is good... And then it's the tricky bit. Doing a track that is spectacular also for the drivers. And then building it in a way that there is lots of overtaking. I had a discussion yesterday with the CEO of the circuit and they are totally open-minded about next year," he said, adding that discussions with the FIA over how to lay out the track for overtaking are ongoing.

Changes promised for next year

Madring managing director Luis Garcia Abad, the former manager of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, did not respond to requests for comment from BBC Sport on Monday, but after the race he told Autosport the organisers would be open to improvements.

"The FIA defined clearly which is the way to improve the track layout, and we will be open because we will have to reinstall the track for the next year. I really believe that the drivers enjoyed qualifying a lot. But for sure we will try to make an improvement for next year. We have the space, we have a venue, we have the facilities, we have the capacity to do it. I'm sure that FOM [Formula One Management], FIA and ourselves, we will try. If we can improve something, we will do it," Abad said.

Fans were harsher on the venue's readiness — social media criticism of access and facilities included having to sit on earth trackside, poor visibility, broken facilities and a general lack of polish, the consequence of a tight timeframe to get the track ready for its first event.

The Madring, sitting around the Institución Ferial de Madrid convention centre between the city centre and the airport, is exactly the "destination race" F1 has been chasing — an entertainment weekend designed to rival the Super Bowl and draw fans and finance to the host city. Whether that vision survives contact with a procession of grid-locked racing on Sunday will depend on the changes the organisers have now promised. As one report put it, the promoters may yet hope for some ursine intervention from the famous bear statue in Puerta del Sol — but the drivers' verdict was clear: the Madring is a brilliant challenge over a single lap and, as it stands, a frustrating place to race.