Simply boring or capable of delivering more? Our writers give their verdict on the Madring’s inaugural F1 Grand Prix
Plenty of expectations were set for the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix at the purpose-built circuit know as the Madring in the Spanish capital, but after the dust has settled, did the race meet those high hopes or fall short? Our writers have their say.
The Madring is the new benchmark for boring — Kavi Khandelwal
For years, Monaco has carried the crown as the most action-less track on the calendar. Fans complain about it every season. “You can’t overtake,” or “it’s only exciting when it rains”. To be fair, those criticisms are largely justified. Monaco is a tight, twisty, unforgiving circuit where qualifying essentially decides the race. However, here’s the thing: at least Monaco has glamour, history and the ever-present threat of a driver binning it into the barriers. You tune in hoping for chaos, and occasionally, you do get it.
The Madring, however, has none of that. I genuinely believed no track could be more boring than Monaco, but I was mistaken. The Madring offers absolutely no space for overtaking with tight corners, short straights and the racing action practically nonexistent. Perhaps the only thing interesting in its inaugural race was the botched strategy and seven-second pit stop for McLaren that paved the way for a different outcome in the race other than the polesitter taking a straightforward win.
The drivers have said it themselves as well. Alex Albon called the race “quite boring” afterwards, and Gabriel Bortoleto joked that he nearly fell asleep. When the men driving the cars are openly admitting it was a snooze, then you know it’s not just fan frustration.
The inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring was boring, to put it plain and simple. Monaco may be a procession with history, but the Madring was a pure lullaby.
Was the Madring a victim of its own hype? — Chloe Buckley
The inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring was always going to come with high expectations. After months of anticipation, a circuit that completed construction remarkably late and a series of red flags during Formula 3 testing, there was plenty of reason to believe its debut could produce something unpredictable.
Instead, the race left many fans underwhelmed. The circuit had very limited overtaking opportunities compared to what it was made out to be, as well as very little chaos that had surrounded the circuit in the build-up to its first F1 weekend. Following the completion of construction and the wild F3 testing, the reality was always going to struggle in comparison to the expectation.
What we need to remember is that F1 is home to 22 of the best drivers in the world, and the lack of chaos at the Madring last weekend doesn’t mean it is destined to be a poor addition to the calendar. The red flags seen during the F3 testing were never going to guarantee the same level of chaos in F1. When you have drivers operating at the highest level in single-seater racing, expecting them to regularly produce the same incidents because a junior category did would be unrealistic.
A new circuit needs time to settle into F1. Teams and drivers will have more experience and data to work with for its return next season. Engineers will have a better understanding of the circuit’s demands and the drivers themselves will be more familiar with the characteristics of the track, hopefully changing how the racing unfolds.
However, there is a bigger question for F1 to consider. If the sport wants to provide the best quality of exciting racing, shouldn’t it be prioritising circuits that naturally offer better overtaking opportunities? The Madring joins Monaco as a recent example of a circuit where the tight and narrow nature of the track makes it difficult for passing. Both offer a unique challenge, but a great looking or challenging circuit doesn’t always translate into great racing.
F1 shouldn’t be afraid of tracks having character, but there needs to be a balance. If the sport is going to continue expanding the calendar, especially with an increased amount of sprint races for 2027, then providing drivers with more opportunities to race wheel-to-wheel should be part of that conversation.
The Madring may have had an underwhelming debut, but writing it off after one race would be premature. Giving the circuit more time to settle and allowing teams and drivers to learn from the experience could allow its future to tell a different story.
However, the first race also highlighted an important question for the sport: is it choosing circuits for how they look and feel, or for how they allow its best drivers to race?
Lets give it one more chance — Jason Sharp
10 years ago, the F1 circus had a race in Baku for the very first time. The expectation of this race among the paddock and fans was that it would be chaotic and hugely entertaining, with the circuit featuring long straights, limited run-off areas and the tightest corner we’ve ever seen.
Come the Grand Prix, however, it was rather underwhelming. There were technical retirements and a surprising podium for Force India’s Sergio Pérez, but the on-track action was simply missing and fans deemed Baku another boring street circuit.
Come 2017, however, we were delivered one of the most exciting Grands Prix of the last decade. There were crashes, multiple safety cars, Vettel and Hamilton crashing behind the Safety Car, a red flag, Daniel Ricciardo winning from P10 on the grid and even Lance Stroll got his first podium.
I really hope that there will be parallels for the Madring, as I really want it to work. Yes, the first race was a disaster with just four overtakes recorded after the first lap, but the World Championship needs to have a mixture of challenges, and the circuit itself is a great test for the drivers with no margins for error, a lot like Monaco or Jeddah. Qualifying was fantastic, so the potential is there; the location is great and so much hype and investment has gone into the circuit.
I think we need to give it one more chance. The feature races showed that drama is possible. If the next race delivers, brilliant. If it doesn’t, at least it had a fair chance.
I hope it’s the former. It would be a shame for the Madring to become Valencia 2.0 — another Spanish street circuit that arrived with huge ambitions only to disappear from the F1 calendar a few years later.
A grim beginning to the track’s 10 year tenure — Caitlyn Gordon
It’s always exciting when a new circuit joins the F1 calendar and the promise of the Madring pre-empted an exciting street circuit bisecting through the Madrid M-11 motorway.
The race potential was hyped up after the subsequent F3 testing a month before the inaugural race, where 19 red flags were recorded which knocked some F1 drivers’ confidence for the track.
But like many street circuits when the race weekend came, it failed to live up to the exaggerated expectations. While the intense banking section around La Monumental was an interesting feature to the track, the rest of the 5.414km circuit was dull, with few to zero overtaking opportunities.
The staggering statistic of only four overtakes happening during the duration of the race (excluding pit stops and the first lap) is a grim reminder of what we have to look forward to for the next decade.
It is worth considering it’s the first of its 10 year tenure in F1, a shattering reality as the race replaces Zandvoort as well as with the historic circuit of Spa on rotation through its deal till 2031.
I don’t want to be pessimistic and negative, but it’s hard to find the positives when even the drivers label the track as “not exciting” and the design layout being described as “poor”.
For all its lack of entertainment, Monaco at least has track character and history. Meanwhile, the Madring has offered nothing unique.
Edited by Meghana Sree
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