Carlos Sainz completed the first official lap of the Madring circuit, which will host the Madrid stage of Formula 1 in September, from the 11th to the 13th.
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The main motorsport category will make two stops in Spain in the 2026 season: the first takes place in Barcelona, but the second is the most anticipated, with the newly added Madrid GP.
The return of the Spanish capital to the calendar marks the end of a 45-year hiatus from Formula 1. The most recent edition took place in 1981 at the Jarama circuit, when Gilles Villeneuve achieved victory. Now, F1 will race on a hybrid street circuit built around IFEMA and near the Valdebebas area.
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The layout of Madring is 5.4 kilometers long and has 22 turns, including the Monumental, with a 24% incline – even steeper than the famous turn 3 of Zandvoort, in the Netherlands. It is also expected that the GP will have 57 laps, while the paddock, pits, and facilities will be incorporated into IFEMA.
So, Sainz, a Williams driver and official ambassador of the Madrid GP, sat behind the wheel of a street car and got the first taste of the asphalt, while work continues to get the circuit ready for Formula 1.
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See this photo on InstagramA post shared by MADRING (@madring_oficial)
