F1 champ Max Verstappen warns Madring circuit 'probably a car killer'

Max Verstappen, Laurent Mekies, generic, Red Bull, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

Spanish Grand Prix

Max Verstappen warns Madring circuit 'probably a car killer'

Hope everyone's brought some spares this weekend

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Friday 11 September 2026 20:58

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Max Verstappen has conceded that the Madring, the brand new home of the Spanish Grand Prix, may be a 'car killer'.

The phrase was first raised by Williams boss James Vowles in the buildup to the circuit's debut this weekend, harkening back to a recent F3 test when raising his concerns.

Verstappen was asked whether he agreed with the 'car killer' assessment and, while he conceded that it is 'probably' the case, he played down concerns that the weekend will turn into a crashfest.

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FP1 went by without incident on Friday afternoon (although it was followed by a five-crash F2 qualifying session), with the best single-seater drivers in the world relying on their talent and simulator sessions to navigate the brand new track in style.

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Verstappen: Madring will be 'tough'

"It probably is a car killer from what I've seen so far," Verstappen said on Thursday, "but you just need to try and stay out of the walls and try to get the best possible feeling in the car. When you're confident in the car on a street circuit it helps a lot."

He added: "It's a tough track. For me, what I feel while driving, it's a little bit the same kind of sensation that I get sometimes around Jeddah in places.

"Of course, Jeddah is faster on average with the corners, but the walls are quite similar in how they are positioned.

"It's going to be tough. I think when F3 were testing here there were a lot of shunts, so it's not an easy track, easy to make a mistake also with the layout of the track. The kerbs that are there, we need to run over a few of them, and that's normally not the strong point of our car, but we will try to do the best we can."

Verstappen warns of overtaking difficulties at Madring

The four-time world champion also talked about the track on a recent Twitch stream, saying: “It’s going to be, I think, very difficult. It's not an easy track, actually. If you do a few laps in a row, it's always very hard to cross the line and say okay, I nailed a lap.

"I think also it has a tendency of maybe creating some big shunts in some places. It reminds me a little bit of Jeddah, with fast corners and the walls being very close."

One of his major concerns, though, is that the track layout might not be conducive to overtaking – noting the angled braking zones which mean drivers will be steering and braking at the same time.

"The only thing that's a bit of a shame that I can see already is that a lot of the braking zones are angled," he said, "so you can't go for an overtake because you're braking, but you're steering either right or left, which is the worst thing you can do for creating an overtaking opportunity."

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F1 Max Verstappen Spanish Grand Prix Madring