Mayor of Madrid: 'Saying that the GP will come is very preliminary'

There are plans to organise another F1 race in Madrid. National politicians have already made a request and local politicians are already working on it. The plans have also reached F1 boss Stefano Domenicali, but Madrid mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida does not sound so convinced yet.

In the past, in the sixties, seventies and eighties, the province of Madrid hosted several Grands Prix and recently there have been rumours that the capital of Spain wants a place on the current F1 calendar again. With Carlos Sainz as Madrid's flag bearer, it would be the right time to return to Formula 1. Although there was an initiative from national politics, the mayor of Madrid does not sound so convinced yet.

"It is something that is currently still being discussed and is seen as preliminary by the 'Comunidad de Madrid' and the institutions involved," the mayor told AS.com. "The F1 race is one of the few major events that Madrid has never hosted and is a matter that needs to be further explored. Although talking about a possibility is still very preliminary." Almeida sounds mostly reserved and doesn't let on that he likes the idea.

Besides finding the right circuit nearby or the right place for a street circuit, the contract between Formula 1 and the Barcelona GP is also a big problem. A second Spanish Grand Prix on the calendar, while there is already a big shortage of time in the season, does not seem obvious.