Spanish Grand Prix organisers release statement over concerns new F1 track won't be ready

Credit for photo: GPFANS x Jorge Fernandez Salas — Photo: © IMAGO

Spanish Grand Prix

Spanish Grand Prix organisers release statement over concerns new F1 track won't be ready

The Madring circuit will host its first ever F1 race in September

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 20 June 2026 14:57

Spanish Grand Prix organisers have issued an update on the progress of the new Madrid circuit that will host the F1 race this year.

Despite the fact we have just been to Barcelona for an F1 race, the Spanish GP is yet to happen in 2026, with that former home of the event now simply known as the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

It is the first time since the 1990 season that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has not hosted the Spanish GP, and instead that honour falls to a brand new street circuit.

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The Madring Circuit is a new track that takes F1 drivers past some of the Spanish capital's famous landmarks, including the IFEMA Madrid, a stunning exhibition centre.

It's inaugural F1 race will be held in September, the 14th round of the season and the final race on the European leg of the 2026 calendar.

But there have been concerns about whether or not the track will be ready in time for that September deadline, with it being reported earlier this week that the track is still just a building site at the moment.

What will be permanent pitlane garages are still a work in progress three months out, and temporary grandstands have yet to be erected while the paddock area remains conceptual.

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Will the Madring Circuit be ready for September?

Madring's chief operations officer Carlos Jimenez has issued an update on the track's progress, and he says he is not losing sleep over the work that still needs to be done.

"We are in our 11th month of construction and the permits took 12," he told Reuters. "Now the most complicated part, even apart from the track, has been done. In the south, the track is done ... in the north, the plot of land is going to be finished in three weeks.

"What we are going to start, probably in two weeks, is the erection ‌of the ⁠temporary structures, the grandstands and hospitalities."

Later, he discussed how the work would be completed on time, revealing that construction workers may need to work around the clock.

"We might need to work during the nights," he continued. "So we have reserved buffer time and we can do night shifts because the licence for construction allows us to work 24 hours."

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