F1’s Madrid street circuit places the spotlight on nine classic tracks
Formula 1 is descending rather unusually on a season of stark similarity in 2024. For the first time ever, there are no driver changes from the last race of 2023 in Abu Dhabi. This year’s Formula 1 calendar will also include no new tracks for the first time since 2019. In all likelihood, 2025 will be the same. Needless to say, in a time where F1 is looking to maximise every possible profit-making avenue amidst its worldwide Netflix-inspired boom, 2026 could not follow suit.
Tuesday’s news of replacing as the in two years has been in the works for some time. The IFEMA exhibition last year to great acclaim, becoming the country’s biggest temporary show. It is an ambitious city, constantly in rivalry with Barcelona (have you heard of El Clasico?) and the home of popular Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz. Now, an opportunity to potentially replace Catalunya as the host of F1 in Spain was simply too appetising to pass up.
