Beginning in 2026, F1 will include the street race in Madrid on its calendar

Madrid will host an F1 street race beginning in 2026, according to an announcement made on Tuesday, raising questions about the future of the current Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The previous F1 event in Madrid was held in 1981 at a purpose-built track in Jarama, but the new venue will be a 5.47-kilometer circuit that wraps around the city’s Ifema exposition center.

F1 has announced a 10-year agreement with the Madrid event, which will include a purpose-built paddock complex in the heart of the city.

Assuming other races remain in place, it will become the ninth street event on the calendar, joining Monaco and the new Las Vegas Grand Prix.

“Madrid is an incredible city with amazing sporting and cultural heritage, and today’s announcement marks the start of an exciting new chapter for F1 in Spain,” F1 president Stefano Domenicali stated.

F1 is reported to be in talks with Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya over its own contract, which runs until 2025, and has stated that the race might continue alongside Madrid.

F1 has previously had two races in Spain, with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso’s tremendous popularity helping to build the short-lived European Grand Prix in Valencia from 2008 to 2012.

Alonso and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, both born and reared in Madrid, are among the sport’s most popular drivers.

Alonso won world titles in 2005 and 2006, and he is credited with boosting F1 popularity in Spain, which has historically supported motorcycle racing.

The trend of street circuit events in Formula One is rising; upcoming races in Saudi Arabia, Miami, and Las Vegas are all on a street layout with restricted run off spaces and fences around the track, while the Qatar Grand Prix will return to the schedule with a conventional circuit in 2021.

The championship is still looking at prospects for a race in Africa, which is the only continent not represented on the program.

F1’s schedule is already planned for a record 24 events in 2024, the most that can be conducted under the Concorde Agreement, however this limit can be increased when the commercial agreement with the teams is renegotiated in 2026.