Is the Madrid Grand Prix in jeopardy? Race struggles to attract funding
F1 News
The Madrid Grand Prix is struggling to attract external investment, which may put the new Spanish Grand Prix in jeopardy. The race was announced at the start of 2024, as F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali visited the IFEMA district, where the semi-permanent track is set to be built. Despite the plans, the Madrid City Council has admitted that possible investors are not showing much interest in putting their funds into the race, but the Madrid City Council still assures that the race will make a profit.
According to Soymotor, there's been an update on the progress of the future race. "Once IFEMA obtained the rights, analyzed and evaluated the various management formulas, it's true that we drafted the management contract, and mainly due to the number of additional clauses we put in place, we did not find a company initially willing to take on this risk," Engracia Higaldo said, who is the head of the Department of the Economy.
Spain has already had a failed Grand Prix in recent history. The Valencia Street Circuit hosted the European Grand Prix for five years between 2008 and 2012. Although home hero Fernando Alonso won in 2012, the cost of the race outweighed the benefit, meaning that sections of the track were left abandoned.
Organisers are certain that the Madrid GP will be more successful, however. Issues surrounding investors will need to be sorted soon, as track construction will need to begin shortly.
What will the track look like?
These are a few details of the track set to debut in the 2026 F1 season:
IFEMA plans to finish the track completely by May 31 2026. There will be four main areas to overtake, and the main straight of the Madrid track will be 700 metres long. What will set the track apart will be a 30-degree banked corner. Based on Marca, the FIA might change the angle slightly, but it is expected to be approximately the same. The highest banking in the calendar at the moment is in the Zandvoort, which reaches a maximum of 18%. Another aspect of the track will be that IFEMA plans to be as eco-friendly as possible. The Baraja Airport is near the track, and a solar power station will be built on IFEMA's land that could cover the electricity used for the Grand Prix.
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