News has emerged that Formula 1 is set to swap Catalunya for Madrid for future Spanish Grands Prix from the 2026 season.
According to reporter Joe Saward, it will soon be announced that the Spanish capital Madrid has succeeded in its bid to host F1.
The city had expressed its interest in securing the rights to hold the Spanish GP in June 2022, citing that it could provide a “great sporting and entertainment spectacle”.
At that time, Enrique Lopez, a cabinet minister for the Community of Madrid, had sent a letter to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali confirming the city’s interest in a grand prix.
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya currently hosts the Spanish round of the F1 World Championship annually and has a contract agreed until the end of 2026.
However, it appears that Madrid has won the race for the next deal with the sport’s promoters, Liberty Media, and will make its bow in 2026 on a proposed 10-year deal.
The circuit will be a semi-permanent venue around the IFEMA convention centre in close proximity to Barajas Airport.
The deal will mean the Spanish Grand Prix leaves the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya at the end of 2025, with the circuit having hosted the event since 1991.
A popular venue amongst teams, engineers and drivers, the Catalunya circuit is well regarded as the perfect place to test the overall performance of an F1 car and has been used as a testing venue on multiple occasions.
However, F1 had warned the promoters of the event last year to solve its “unacceptable” traffic and organisational issues, which emerged during the 2022 grand prix.
The supposed move to Madrid in 2026 won’t be the first time that F1 has raced in the Spanish capital, with the permanent circuit Jarama last hosting the sport in 1981.
That race in ’81 was famous for the defensive heroics of Gilles Villeneuve, who took victory in an uncompetitive Ferrari with the rest of the top five packed tightly behind him.
According to Saward, the new event will be privately funded with support from city and regional authorities, with the metro network providing a sustainable form of transportation.
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