The Spanish Grand Prix will be saying goodbye to Barcelona as the race moves to Madrid in 2026

Running until 2035, the deal means Madrid will host the Spanish Grand Prix for the first time since 1981, when the Jarama circuit, approximately 20 miles north of the capital, last held the event.

Since 1991 the event has been held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, having moved there from Jerez in the South of Spain. The Spanish Grand Prix itself was first held in 1913 and is one of the oldest races on the calendar.

The new circuit, which lies between Madrid and Barajas airport, is a 5.47km race around the Ifema exhibition centre which will have 20 corners and will incorporate both street circuit and road course sections. The new race also goes some way to helping Formula 1 in its ‘net zero by 2030’ project with a statement by the F1 governing body saying 90% of fans would be able to travel to the circuit via public transport, making it “one of the calendar’s most accessible races”.

An attendance of around 110,000 fans a day is the initial target and that could increase to a capacity of 140,000 in subsequent years to make it one of the largest venues in the sport.

The only question that remains is: will Spanish driver Fernando Alonso still be racing by 2026?

words: Mike Booth
pictures: Getty Images / Red Bull & F1