Formula 1 is close to returning to Madrid, and the director of the Spanish circuit has already raised expectations for the debut of the new layout. Luis Garcia Abad highlighted turn 12, called “El Monumental,” as one of the main attractions of the circuit.
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The Spanish GP will be held in the Spanish capital between September 11 and 13, marking F1’s return to the city after 45 years. The so-called “Madring” has 22 turns and approximately 5.3 kilometers, passing around the Real Madrid training center in Valdebebas and the IFEMA convention center.
Although the circuit is located in one of the largest European capitals, the layout was called a street circuit. Garcia Abad, however, rejected the definition and explained why the IFEMA structure was fundamental to making the project feasible.
“It is not [a street circuit] because the public road section we use is occupied only by IFEMA; there are no garage entrances or houses. We use this area to turn a necessity into an advantage. Holding the GP here means we didn’t have to go to the outskirts and we can build it for 10% of what it would cost elsewhere. IFEMA has been here for 35 years and offers us many advantages. Without IFEMA, this GP would have been completely impossible to organize,” he told SER.
Turn 12, however, has already become one of the most talked-about points of the new circuit. Named “El Monumental,” it is 547 meters long with a 24% incline, features that led Garcia Abad to place it among the most special in F1.
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“It is 547 meters long and has a 24% incline. It is one of the most iconic turns on the circuit and, if I may be bold, of the entire world championship. It’s almost like a childhood fantasy with Scalextric. It’s a joy to be here and think about how the cars will slide through here in a month,” he said.
“We had to give it a special character, something that made it recognizable and that made children choose this circuit to play on the videogame. The idea for the name has a lot to do with Madrid; we had the Monumental de Las Ventas, it has a reference somewhat linked to bullfighting, and it is a word pronounced the same in Spanish and English,” he explained.
Garcia Abad, who was previously Fernando Alonso’s agent, avoided treating the preparation as something completed. “We have a ten-year contract and, like all GP events, we will perfect the details after this first edition. We have not left a single grandstand unsold throughout Europe. These seats are of the highest quality.”
“We always meet deadlines; the grandstands are assembled and we are finishing the hospitality areas. But we are trying to organize the Grand Prix off the track, and the asphalt is already perfectly ready for a race,” he added.
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