F1 Drivers Sound Alarm Over 'Mental' New Madring Circuit After Fiery Crashes in Madrid
Formula One’s newest venue delivered immediate drama on its debut weekend as drivers described Madrid’s new hybrid street track, dubbed the Madring, as an unforgiving, high-speed test with virtually zero margin for error.
The fearsome nature of the Spanish Grand Prix circuit became apparent from the very first sessions on Friday. Action began with a frightening incident in Formula 2 practice when Art Grand Prix driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak spun at turn 19, crashed into the barriers at high speed, and watched his car burst into flames before he managed to escape unharmed.
Drivers React to 'Mental' Layout
Mercedes driver George Russell was watching the F2 session from the team’s motorhome when the accident took place. "Oh wow," Russell reacted. "This circuit is mental."
Russell, who went on to top the timesheets in F1's opening practice session ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli, noted that the Madring poses a stricter test than classic street circuits like Monaco due to the sheer velocity involved.
“I would put this as a circuit that has less margin, purely because of the speed,” Russell explained. “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.”
Russell pointed to barrier angles as a particular concern: “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.”
Concerns were shared across the paddock. Williams team principal James Vowles branded the layout "a track that kills cars" following a recent Formula 3 test session that was disrupted by 19 red flags and left three cars with broken chassis.
Lewis Hamilton also highlighted the steep learning curve. “It’s a massively challenging circuit,” Hamilton said. “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.”
Spectacle and History Amid Overtaking Fears
Despite the high crash risk, the circuit delivered impressive visuals and high-speed spectacle. Its signature feature, La Monumental, features a 550-metre stretch of 13.5-degree banking that compresses cars into the tarmac before launching them over a blind crest into grandstand-lined views.
The circuit also incorporates local history: Turn 8, named "El Bunker," is built around La Mata Espesa—two bunkers constructed in 1936 by Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War, whose preservation was a mandatory condition for track construction.
In the second practice session, British driver Arvid Lindblad suffered a heavy impact after losing the rear of his Racing Bulls car at turn 13. Although the session was red-flagged, Lindblad walked away unhurt. Antonelli ended FP2 fastest, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Hamilton.
Despite the excitement, drivers raised red flags over the potential quality of racing on Sunday, pointing out that overtaking could prove nearly 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,” said four-time world champion Max Verstappen. The angled braking zones at turns five, eight, and 17 mean qualifying performance could dictate the race outcome, raising fears of a processional Grand Prix punctuated only by safety cars and red flags.