Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz showed enthusiasm before the Formula 1 debut at Madring, which hosts the Spanish GP this weekend. The new Madrid circuit is 5.4 km long, has 22 corners, and marks the category’s return to the Spanish capital after 45 years.
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Alonso mainly highlighted the technical demand of the layout and the need for quick adaptation in free practice. “It’s a special track and it will be a challenge for everyone to learn the circuit as quickly as possible in free practice,” he said. “The track looks difficult, very technical, with a lot of curb usage and some high-speed sections where you have to pass very close to the walls, which will provide a lot of adrenaline for a driver.”
For Sainz, the weekend has an even more personal meaning. Born and raised in Madrid, the Williams driver will race in front of family and friends and recalled that it was in the city where he began dreaming of F1. “It’s very special to have a race in my hometown, where I grew up. It was here that I took my first steps as a kart driver at 10 years old, wanting one day to be a Formula 1 driver,” he said.
The Spaniard has already prepared in the Williams simulator and also watched onboard footage from the Formula 3 test held last month. Even so, he acknowledged that the true reading of the circuit will only come when the cars go on track. “The layout has personality, with many different types of corners, so it will be different from what we are used to. But, realistically, it will be tomorrow in FP1 that we will know what this track is really about.”
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Franco Colapinto also emphasized his connection with Madrid, a city where he lived at the beginning of his career in European motorsport. “Madrid feels like the place closest to home for me, especially because of how I started in Europe. So racing here in Formula 1 is the fulfillment of a dream,” said the Argentine.
Before the official debut of the F1 cars, Madring also welcomed about 4,000 guests on a walk through the pit lane, including residents, students, charity beneficiaries, patients, and volunteers. The organizers expect the new layout to establish its own identity on the category’s calendar.
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