Lewis Hamilton told to go SLOWER on F1 track by circuit boss after complaints on new Spanish GP home

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton told to go SLOWER on F1 track by circuit boss after complaints on new Spanish GP home

Telling a seven-time champion to go slower? That's not going to end well

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 14 July 2026 12:28

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A Madring Circuit official has revealed the first impression that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had about the new home of the F1 Spanish Grand Prix.

F1 is heading to Madrid in September for the Spanish GP, an event which is normally held in Barcelona.

This year's race in Barcelona was instead called the Barcelona-Catalunya GP, with the Spanish GP instead moving to a newly-built circuit in the Spanish capital.

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The Madring Circuit runs past some of Madrid's most famous landmarks, including the IFEMA exhibition centre, and is sure to provide an exciting product for F1 fans to watch in September.

The brand new circuit and its surrounding facilities have been under construction for over a year, with the organisers admitting with just months to go that they may have to work through the night in order to be finished on time.

However, last week, Ferrari drivers Hamilton and Charles Leclerc became the first F1 stars to try it out, taking part in a filming day at the circuit.

Now, their first impressions of the track have been revealed by the general manager of the Madring circuit, Luis Garcia Abad.

Hamilton's Madring complaints

"He [Hamilton] complained about compression and I told him that the best solution to avoid compression was to go a little slower, that it wouldn't be a problem," Garcia Abad told MundoDeportivo

Garcia Abad also revealed Leclerc's thoughts, stating that Leclerc commented that qualifying for the Madrid race "is going to be tremendous because you really pass very close to the walls."

Garcia Abad emphasised that Hamilton and Leclerc were satisfied with the test at the circuit, saying: "They liked it, but it's not because they have to like it or not. The circuit design is approved by the FIA , and from the very beginning, it was F1 itself that built each of the 22 curves of the track."

Hamilton claimed victory at the other race in Spain this year, and will be looking to do the same in September to keep up his pursuit of the Mercedes drivers in the drivers' championship.

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari