FRIDAY / 11 SEPTEMBER
13:30 — PRACTICE 1
The first representative Formula 1 laps at Madring.17:00 — PRACTICE 2
The closest indication of race pace before Saturday.
THE WEEKEND / 11–13 SEPTEMBER 2026
Madrid. Forty-five years later.
Formula 1 last raced here in 1981. This September, it returns on a new circuit at the northern edge of the city.
For three days, the noise moves to Madring. Madrid carries on around it.
THE RESULT / 13 SEPTEMBER 2026
Madrid returned. Antonelli won.
A Virtual Safety Car opened the door. Mercedes took it. Kimi Antonelli won the first Grand Prix at Madring ahead of Max Verstappen and polesitter Lando Norris.
ANTONELLI / VERSTAPPEN +4.351 / NORRIS +5.089
READ THE RACE RECAPMADRING / 5.414 KM / 22 CORNERS
Seen for the first time.
Madring runs through IFEMA Madrid, Valdebebas and a section of public road. Part permanent circuit and part temporary course, its 22 corners gave the teams a new racing line to learn.
The defining section is La Monumental: a banked, half-kilometre corner that will hold the cars under load for roughly six seconds. By Sunday, strategy proved more decisive than one defining pass.
5.414 KM / 22 CORNERS / 57 LAPS
VIEW THE OFFICIAL CIRCUIT MAPBEFORE YOU LEAVE
Your ticket determines the route.
Madring is divided into North and South. The two sides are not connected from inside the circuit. Check the area, entrance and recommended station on your ticket before leaving. Arriving at the wrong side is not a small detour.
- NORTH
- Use Valdebebas Cercanías station on Line C-1 for most North tickets and the North Fan Zone.
- SOUTH
- Use Feria de Madrid on Metro Line 8 for most South tickets and the IFEMA side of the circuit. Mar de Cristal, Canillas or San Lorenzo may be better for some entrances.
- OPEN
- The circuit is open from 08:00 to 20:00. Arrive early and allow time for the final walk, security and entry queues.
- ENTRY
- Bring the ticket assigned to your area and carry identification. Once the ticket has been validated, re-entry is not permitted.
- DRIVING
- There is no general public parking at the circuit. Use Metro, Cercanías, bus or taxi. A separate paid park-and-shuttle service operates from the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium, subject to availability.
Check the ticket. Then take the train.
Official information may change. Check Madring before departure.
THE WEEKEND / LOCAL TIME
Three days at Madring.
The first laps on Friday. The grid on Saturday. The race on Sunday.
SATURDAY / 12 SEPTEMBER
12:30 — PRACTICE 3
The final hour before qualifying.16:00 — QUALIFYING
The first Formula 1 grid in Madrid since 1981.SUNDAY / 13 SEPTEMBER
09:45 — FORMULA 3
11:25 — FORMULA 2
13:00 — DRIVERS’ PARADE
15:00 — SPANISH GRAND PRIX
57 laps around Madring.JARAMA / 21 JUNE 1981
The last time.
Formula 1 last raced in Madrid on 21 June 1981. Jarama was narrow, physical and difficult to pass.
That afternoon, Gilles Villeneuve started seventh. What followed became one of the defining drives of his career.
80 LAPS / 1.24 SECONDS
Five cars. Almost no space between them.
Villeneuve’s Ferrari was fast on the straight and vulnerable everywhere else. For lap after lap, Jacques Laffite, John Watson, Carlos Reutemann and Elio de Angelis gathered behind him. None found a way through.
After 80 laps, Villeneuve crossed the line 0.22 seconds ahead of Laffite. The first five cars were separated by just 1.24 seconds.
It was Villeneuve’s final Formula 1 victory—and the final Grand Prix Madrid would see for 45 years.
Some races are remembered for the pass. This one is remembered because the pass never came.
MADRID / 13 SEPTEMBER 2026
A different circuit. The same city.
Formula 1 does not return to Jarama. It returns by another route—to a new circuit built through IFEMA and Valdebebas, in a part of Madrid that looked very different in 1981.
The old circuit and the new one share little beyond the city around them. That is enough.
1981 / JARAMA2026 / MADRING
On Sunday afternoon, the wait ended.
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