Formula 1 is preparing for the eagerly anticipated new addition to the 2026 season. The Spanish Grand Prix moves to a new home at Madring, the new circuit built around IFEMA Madrid, the Spanish capital's exhibition district.

For Scuderia Ferrari HP and the other ten teams, it will be a weekend unlike any other, with preparation carried out in the simulator needing to be validated right from the start of Friday practice. Madring is very much a blank page for Formula 1. The 5.416-kilometre circuit features 22 corners and combines purpose-built sections with stretches of public. The hybrid layout offers a wide variety of characteristics, including long straights, heavy braking zones, more technical parts and high-speed corners. Sunday's race will be run over 57 laps, for a total distance of 308.524 kilometres.

As is always the case when Formula 1 visits a new circuit, one of the key aspects of the weekend will be how quickly the teams and drivers can build up a reliable bank of data. Simulations provide detailed information ahead of the event, but only running on track will allow teams to assess key factors such as the level of grip provided by the track surface and how it evolves over the course of the weekend, as well as tyre behaviour and energy deployment strategies. Identifying the best racing lines, as well as the areas where it will be possible to attack or defend, will also be an evolving process from one session to the next. Scuderia Ferrari HP already has some first-hand experience of Madring. On 9 July, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton took the SF-26 out on track for a Filming Day, becoming the first drivers to drive a Formula 1 car at the new circuit. Between them, they completed the 200 kilometres permitted by the regulations for this type of activity, running on Pirelli demonstration tyres. It was a useful opportunity to familiarise themselves with the layout, although the conditions and objectives were very different from those of a race weekend.

The most distinctive feature of Madring is undoubtedly Turn 12, known as "La Monumental". The long, semi-circular corner is around 550 metres long and features banking with an angle of up to 24%, so it is bound to be one of the defining images of the new circuit. There are several other interesting sections, from the braking zone at Turn 1, which is one of the most obvious overtaking opportunities, to the high-speed sections and elevation changes that contribute to the varied nature of the track. It's not just the drivers who will be dealing with this challenge. At a new circuit, the work of the engineers takes on particular importance, as every lap provides an opportunity to compare the data gathered on track with that obtained in the simulator, progressively refining the car set-up and its management. The three free practice sessions will therefore be even more important than usual, the aim being to go into Saturday's qualifying session with as complete a picture as possible.

Fred Vasseur: We have turned the page after Monza and our full focus is now on Madrid and on the opportunity that a new race weekend presents. Madring is a completely new challenge for Formula 1 and, although Charles and Lewis were able to get an initial feel for the track during our Filming Day in July, there will be a lot for everyone to learn right from the start of Friday practice. The circuit presents a very different challenge to the one we faced last weekend and, on a new track, adapting quickly and making the most of every session will be particularly important. We need to take it one session at a time, focus on ourselves and work as a team to maximise the potential of both cars.

Ferrari at the Spanish GP

55 GP contested
1951 Debut (J.F. Gonzalez 2nd; A. Ascari 4th; P. Taruffi ret.; L. Villoresi ret.)
12 (21.82%) Wins
14 (25.45%) Pole Positions
12 (21.82%) Fastest Laps
56 (33.94%) Podiums

Three questions to Tuukka Taponen - Ferrari Academy Driver F3

Tuukka, you have driven the Madring track during a Formula 3 group test. What was your first impression of the circuit, and what makes it particularly challenging from a driver's point of view?
Tuukka Taponen: It's a very difficult track. There are a lot of corners - 22 in total - so it's not easy to put together a clean lap. It's also quite physical over long runs and race stints, and very demanding because you need to stay focused all the time. The walls are quite close, so even a small mistake can cost you a lot.

Formula 1 cars will obviously behave very differently from the Formula 3 car you drove there. Based on your experience, what do you expect to be the biggest challenges for Charles and Lewis when they take to the track for the first time on Friday?
TT: At least for us in Formula 3, it was possible to make quite a big difference in every sector. I would say the first sector is probably the most difficult, especially the second chicane. Everyone rides the kerbs there, and if you take one at a slightly wrong angle or carry a little too much speed, you can end up in the wall. You want to push right to the limit: if you go slightly over it, you risk quite a lot, but if you don't push enough, you can lose a lot of lap time. Towards the end of the sector there are also a few high-speed corners, by which point the tyres are already starting to overheat a little. That makes it quite difficult to be quick and consistent throughout the lap.

Before going to a new circuit, drivers do a lot of preparation in the simulator. From your experience at Madring, what are the things you only really discover once you drive the track for real?
TT: Every time you go to a new track, you have obviously prepared in the simulator beforehand. The simulator gives you a good idea of what to expect, but once you get there, the reality can be quite different. The grip level isn't the same in every corner: some feel a little less grippy, others a little more. That is going to be one of the big challenges for Charles and Lewis. They will also be travelling at very high speeds, with the walls close and very small margins for error. Putting together a clean lap while still pushing to the limit is going to be difficult.

Spanish Grand Prix - Facts and Figures

0. The number of manhole covers on the track. To avoid the problems seen at other street circuits, the designed specified there would be none in the track surface.

26. The difference in elevation between the lowest point of the circuit, Turn 2 at 671 metres above sea level, and the highest, Turn 7, at 697 metres. In between is the Subida de las Cárcavas, where the gradient reaches 8%.

51. The number of years since the first and only time a woman has finished in the points in Formula 1. Italy's Lella Lombardi, driving a March-Ford finished sixth in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, held on the street circuit at Montjuïc in Barcelona. The race was stopped and never restarted, following an accident involving Rolf Stommelen, in which several trackside spectators lost their lives.

54. The height in metres of the Spanish flagpole installed between Turn 3 and the entrance to the pit lane. The flag measures 16.66 × 25 metres and, according to Madring, is the largest in Spain.

837. The length in metres of the longest straight, which comes after the Hortaleza corner which leads onto the urban section of Ribera del Sena.