Carlos Sainz, the ambassador of the MadRing - Photo: GPblog

Madrid GP already 'sets record' ahead of debut weekend in 2026!

21:30, 25 Sep

Updated: 21:33, 25 Sep

byKada Sarkozi

There is 'unprecedented' interest in the MadRing's Formula 1 debut next season.

In just a few weeks, it has already sold more than 45,000 tickets and raised more than €25 million. Something never seen before for a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

- Isabel Díaz Ayuso, President of the Community of Madrid

Carlos Sainz at the MadRing - Photo: GPblog

Isabel Díaz Ayuso, President of the Community of Madrid, revealed how many fans the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix could already attract.

"The Spanish Grand Prix, which is at everyone's service. In just a few weeks, it has already sold more than 45,000 tickets and raised more than €25 million. Something never seen before for a Formula 1 Grand Prix," she said at Forum Europa.

Starting next season, the Spanish Grand Prix will be hosted at the MadRing circuit around the IFEMA centre. The race will take place on 13 September.

Meanwhile, Barcelona will continue to host a race in 2026, under the name Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Sainz on the MadRing track

Carlos Sainz is the ambassador for race in his home city. "As for the circuit, you already know it's going to be a semi-street circuit, partly a street circuit, partly more open, more of a traditional circuit. And there, in that more open part, where the famous Monumental (the corner with 24% banking) is being built, it's where we'll be able to design a type of turns that I think most inspires drivers, the kind of turns we find on more old-school circuits," he began to GPblog about the track.

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"While the urban part, obviously, will be more like the turns we see in Baku, in Singapore, more angled, 90 degrees, but we'll be passing very close to the walls, and in the end, passing close to the walls always gives you a greater adrenaline rush. So I think this circuit will have the best of both worlds: partly a street circuit, close to the walls, but then there is the open part, and I think it's a very good combination."

Simultaneously, Fernando Alonso is the ambassador for the other F1 track in the country in Barcelona.

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"Fernando and I are rivals, but we're also friends. Fernando helped me a lot during the first part of my sporting career to get to where I am today, and I'll always be grateful. I'm glad they named him Barcelona's ambassador. If we can both do our best to ensure Spain has two races, it's even better," the driver who finished on the podium in Azerbaijan answered GPblog's question.

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