After 45 years, Madrid will once again have a grand prize of Formula 1. In the absence of official confirmation from the organization, the cars will return to the Spanish capital in 2026, as sources from the public and private sector have confirmed to The Spanish Newspaperfrom the Prensa Ibérica group.
This newspaper has already announced that the route of the Spanish test will be deployed through Valdebebas, in the northern area of Madrid. It also remains to be seen if it will be compatible with the current one Spanish Grand Prix which will be run in Montmeló (Barcelona), at least until 2026, when the contract expires.
Names registered for the Grand Prize
IFEMA, Community and City Council of Madrid take the return of Formula 1 for granted to the Spanish capital, according to a source familiar with the negotiation, but they are waiting for the official announcement by the entity led by Stefano Domenicali. The former director of Scuderia Ferrari or executive director of Lamborghini, among others, has been to Madrid several times in recent months.
Communication is imminent, because the negotiation, which has been carried out discreetly in recent years, is now in its final phase. In fact, in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property on March 28, the names ‘Formula 1 Madrid Grand Prix’ y ‘Madrid Grand Prix’. “I know when we are going to sign it and when we are going to do it. Since I have confidence in Domenicali, we are doing things,” said José Vicente de los Mozos, president of the IFEMA executive committee, in the summer.
The CEO of Indra has been a key figure in the return of Formula 1 to Madrid. He is one of the most relevant figures that the automotive sector has had in Spain, hence its influence on the process that will culminate with the announcement. Among other positions, he was a member of the executive committee of the Renault Group, president of the Board of Directors of Renault Spain and president of ANFAC, the association of automobile manufacturers.
What will happen to Montmeló?
“We would like the Spanish Grand Prix (the one held in Montemló) to continue for many years. For there to be compatibility between the two races. But that must be asked of Formula One Management (the F1 operating company). I am working on my Madrid project, but if in the end there are two races, the better“, assured De los Mozos in the intervention where he confirmed that there was a solid project for the Spanish capital.
In the past, two races have already coincided in Spain, while the European GP was held between 2008 and 2012 in Valencia. Although all the steps taken in recent times have led to F1 to countries like the US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or Azerbaijan. Hence, expansion markets and new windows in an increasingly broader calendar leave Barcelona in a position of weakness in the current market.
But the Madrid candidacy has been worked on independently of the Catalan test. The first public exhibition took place in June 2022, when Enrique López, the Councilor of the Presidency of the Community of Madrid, sent a letter to Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula 1, applying for the Spanish city to host a GP in a short-term future.
2023-12-05 09:11:25
#Formula #arrive #Madrid #official #announcement #missing
