The NEW F1 race in Madrid Explained 

It's weird seeing formula 1 and formula e switch between their ideals with f1 having more street tracks and less traditional tracks and formula e going completely opposite this seasion in fe being a good example.

F1 wants to get rid of Spa and replace it with tracks like these? What a joke.

i dont think f1 will ever understand that the fans DONT want street circuits

I'm so tired of street tracks! I would love to see Kylami, Mugello, Road America, Hockenheim be in the regular rotation.

Can someone explain how a NEW circuit is more sustainable than MAINTAINING an existing infrastructure with existing grand stands and facilities. Surely, upgrading is more sustainable?

Cannot understand how they can give 10-year-contracts to untested new circuits. At least do a shorter contract first and test if the track is exciting before committing for that long.

Objection: They never said they were gonna replace Barcelona. In fact, the circuit of Barcelona Catalunya is planning on hosting a GP in 2026, as their contract includes that year, so I can see the chance of having 2 GPs in Spain, at least for 1 year.

I don’t mind replacing Catalunya with a street circuit… as long as that street circuit is the one Top Gear made in season 20 episode three

10 years ago this would have been celebrated and welcomed with open arms. However we are approaching a point where the balance of Street circuit vs. road course. IndyCar has had this same issue with regards to the schedule now being dominated by road and street circuits and only 4 oval tracks are left (albeit some of the ovals are double header events). And only 1 of those oval races (Indianapolis 500) is using the Super Speedway aero kit. The rest are short ovals 1.25 miles in length or shorter

I dont want to have like 25 street circuits in the calender. I want a variety of tracks.

It's funny how for years people were complaining about how Catalunya is a boring track. But when Madrid is announced everyone suddenly wants to save Catalunya.

i have been to like 6 gps and last year I went to barcelona 23 race. It was amazing. I had seats at t1 and I saw litterally EVERY overtake there was. it was the best f1 gp experience I have had. yes the T1 seat really helped. I could see also see t6 and t7. Everyone talked about how boring the race was etc etc. yes on tv it was boring but I saw like 30 overtakes in t1. Yeah f1 doesnt show like a p13 overtake but it was great. the circuit is also placed very well. its pretty good acces, sad to see this race maybe go away. I really liked it and it was a great experience

Formula E will start to get upset that F1 is switching to street circuits

Im excited but more on curious how it turns out like Las Vegas, but removing a well established track is a slap in the face for fans in my opinion, having it to rotate yearly basis is a good idea

Before everyone starts, I've always had the attitude of 'Don't knock it until you've tried it'. And I'll stick by that when F1 breaks even more new city ground. I just wish we could have gone to Motorland Aragon. Or back to Jerez.

Honestly I DON'T AGREE OF NEW CIRCUIT WE NEED LEGENDARY CIRCUITS COMEBACK

I don't mind street tracks as such, as long as it isn't a night race, they all look indentical.

IMHO I think this is also partly a political decision. I think the Spanish officials weren’t too happy about having the Spanish GP in Catalonia and hearing the Catalan anthem every time before the race

IMPORTANT: They literally said on their news article that they are not intending on dropping Barcelona. There is a contract set through 2026 and I doubt they will want to lose that deal.

My comment from yesterday still stands. When the excuse is "we're limited with what we can do with the layout", we shouldn't be racing there.

I don't really mind street tracks, as long as there isn't too many on the calendar, for me the street tracks that should stay are Melbourne, Singapore, Monaco, Canada and Baku, they are all street circuits that have provided great moments, and I like them personally.

Maybe they wanna renovate Catalunya, maybe they wanna test the new 2026 car regs in place if its comes to fruition, but imo what a waste of money for making an event that you already have but maybe my prediction was right ( renovate Catalunya )

As a BTCC fan, I'm grateful they just stick to the same old schedule and don't try to go down the street track avenue.

In the end, I reckon there needs to be variety - a balance of tracks. Street circuits aren't inherently bad, and Baku is a testament to that. But the worrying trend of new tracks being largely street circuits throws off that balance. It pushes the whole sport towards specialising in street racing, which isn't what F1 is about, in the end. If the trend continues, then teams have to start designing their cars towards being street-specialised machines (i.e. designed to perform best in uneven, comparatively slow conditions) to the detriment of their performance at facilities genuinely designed for them. A car designed to deal with the majority of tracks being uneven with lots of slow corners and speedbreaker chicanes won't perform anywhere near as well on a fast, smooth, flowing track. Anyone who watched the World Endurance Championship in 2023 will have seen the Peugeot, a car specialised around low drag and exploitation of the ground effect, do dreadfully on the uneven surface at Sebring, while managing a podium at the comparatively smooth, fast Monza. If F1 is to keep the current concept of car (i.e. the ground effect cars we have now) then it can't allow itself to drift into having huge numbers of street circuits, else it risks creating a series where unoptimised cars try to exploit the ground effect on circuits that are unsuitable for that kind of racing and their design is so centred around street courses that when they get to a permanent facility, the cars can't actually make the best of it. If F1 wants fan engagement and good racing, then they need a harmonious relationship between the ruleset and the tracks the series uses. Currently, it seems they're trying to have their cake and eat it too. Or at least that's what it looks like from the perspective of a fairly new fan.

I'm all for street circuits, but not when they're at the expense of good permanent circuits.

Maybe I'm just stupid or something, but looking at the layout, my main concern is that it'll be really hard to pass there.

How on earth do you overtake on that track?

The problem is not replacing by a street circuit, the main problem is development. Catalunia has a combo, slow, mid and high speed corners and a very long straight. That's why this track is used for testing and for mid season upgrades. Removing this, will affect the ability to develop and test new parts, specifically for the mid to lower grid teams.

We already have way to many street, city, circuits. We don't need any more.

make a video about traditional tracks coming back (looking at you hockenheim) so that F1 will announce one coming back

I dont mind another street track as long as they don't replace classics like Spa, Monza, Monaco, Silverstone, Hungaroring for example. Barcelona wasn't that great. But as an American I'm just glad a new one will not be here. We have enough circuits. Arguably too many right now. I could honestly do without Miami but Vegas and Cota are good.

This seems like they are trying to do electric f1 cars, cuz formula e only races on streets

I am down for new tracks. But can we get rid of some tracks that are crap. Monaco for one has to go. Or use it as an exhibition pre-race with some points given and the bragging rights but Monaco is the worst track to watch f1. Unless it’s rain, the race ends the same way it started.

I think it because of the current tensions between Spain and the district of catalunya about independence and then not wanting it to be the Spanish gp in a potential independent state

I do feel like F1 are focusing a lot more on the added danger that street circuits bring as way of ensuring greater crowds (and so greater money!), but forgetting that traditional tracks are just as risky!

My opinion; Allot of tracks in the US are fighting noise complaints from racing. The fact that we are getting races in population centers is kind of cool. I say enjoy the benefits of the street circuits while they last cause they probably won't. Let F1 cash in and maybe we can relax some of the cost cutting (& 100 page regulations) going on with the cap. With the extra income from this current boom, F1 could lower the cost traditional tracks have to pay so they can make costly improvements. Example would be new run off areas that will penalize track limits without sand traps and penalties. One of the best ideas I've heard is to eliminate sausage curbs and replace the track limits with a lattice of concrete strips with AstroTurf laid in between. Like 5mm strips.

If they replace spa for a street circuit im gonna stop watching the sport and hop over to wec

Would have liked to see Jerez on the calendar again

Idk why people dont want street circuits when last year, the 2 most exciting race were in Singapore and Las Vagas, both street circuits.

My honest reaction to that circuit is just a blank. I don't know how to react anymore with how many street circuits they're adding. It's just one after another that I have just no idea. I just know it's going to slowly push out existing purpose-built circuits, maybe even iconic/historic ones. Now it's a case of how far is F1 willing to go with adding in street circuits that purpose-built ones are no longer being given any attention anymore. So many circuits can be brought back, but they just keep making new ones that not many are really asking for to begin with. As a side note, it feels weird that Formula E is I think somewhat going in the other direction (not as much) and slowly bringing in more races in purpose built circuits alongside street ones. They introduced Portland last year and now Misano and Shanghai are also debuting this year as well.

Not sure what to think, it's the case of seeing it happen in person first would be better.

F1 should bring back tracks like Sepang, Hockenheim, Nurburgring, and Istanbul Park. These are grand prix cars, not street cars

It's not even in Madrid. It's 16 kilometres away, the same as COTA is to Austin.

I'll personally wait until the actual race takes place there and then judge.

I'm cancelling my F1 TV subscription. I want to watch proper racing on proper circuits, not a parade on closed roads.

I thought and hoped that the track was in the centre of the city to see the beauty of the city but seeing this makes me unhappy.

I kinda wished it was more like the GT6 Madrid layout I want to keep Catalunya circuit but I love street circuits tho

We should remove SPA from calendar and replace it with Brussels street circuit...

I prefer clasic circuits over street ones, but still, i prefer to wait until the first race to judge it.

Sunday: real madrid paid the refs Tuesday: city of madrid paid the FOM

At least it's better than the rumours

Maybe that's why they have that slogan "drive it out".... They tryna drive out their fans entirely

Next thing you know it becomes a testing track for F1 in the future

It is total bullshit that a quite iconic track like Barcelona now has to make way for another street circuit

People should talk about what the local population has to deal with during all of this.

Isnt this near their home stadium for RMA?

I think I would be much more interested in this race/layout if Jeddah, Miami, and Vegas hadn't just been added. There are definitely sections here in interested to see, but the sour taste from the other three makes it hard to get legitimately excited about the announcement.

Its not surprising, just disappointing

Congrats for people that wanted to axe Barcelona. Now you got this street circuit 😉

We don’t have testing at Barcelona anymore

Great!!! Another street circuit

After what i saying on your previous video, now I don't know what to say, i hope Formula 1® keeping Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for pre-season testing. By the way, Hola, Madrid! 👋🙋‍♂️ Another semi-permanent track alongside Melbourne and Montreal is coming. 23/01/2024 18:51 At My Local Time.

When even the laptime is generic

We need to stop bitching about track layout. We did the same thing with Vegas, and it turned out to be a banger. Let’s see cars on track before we complain too much

F1 keeps disappointing more and more every day 😭😭

Ok adding new Street Circuits to the calendar is one thing, having Street Circuits straight up replace pre-established circuits on the calendar is another thing entirely. I'm not even the biggest fan of the Barcelona circuit but F1 have been racing there since 1991, a 30+ year history chucked in the bin for what... another street circuit when we have already have 9 on the calendar already. This sets a dangerous precedent, I live in the UK and there are some prominent politicians who want a London GP, Silverstone is now genuinely at risk. Hell I remember when F1 management wanted a Rome GP, that could put Monza at risk. Don't you dare Liberty Media, don't you dare.

No! Get rid of the street tracks, and give us the good stuff like Kyalami!

Not america? Are they allowed to do that? I thought only america gets new tracks?

Love a street track. Separates the men from the boys. Never race on a test track - I hate that test track in Barcelona. Mon'madrid.

Why They Replace The Legend Catalunya Track, I Literally Only Win There At F1 23

The circuit looks kinda ugly

This is what happens when an American media company takes over Americanising it which is Predominantly a European sport!!!!👎🏽

This has to stop F1 is getting away from what has made it the pinnacle of motorsport. Traditionally apart for Monaco F1 has been about racing on purpose built tracks and that is what it should continue to be. Very soon F1 will become like Formula E every race on a street circuit why because of money not for the fans

Devastated.....we adore Barcelona (the city) and had planned to visit sometime in the future to also attend the GP. Madrid is a bit M'eh, once was enough and would not re-visit foe a street circuit. When Liberty Media took over I feared that overt commercialisation would kill the sport....looks increasingly going to happen. Upside......looks we are going to Barcelona next year......we had Spa penciled for 2025

Personally I prefer racing over what F1 has become. I enjoyed the days when refueling was allowed and cars were driven as fast as possible for the entire race. Last year, for an example, Singapore was a joke of a race where every driver was managing tires. The same goes for Qatar where the limitation of F1 cars became clear on a track designed for motorbike racing. How absurd to have preprogrammed pitstops due to concerns over tires and even going to the length of modifying the circuit midway through the weekend. Beyond Madrid, I hear of a potential race in Chicago, IL? What has become 100% clear is F1 has reached a point where they no longer care about the racing, it is more about the show and if you want a good show, then put it in the middle of a city center. However, It looks like Madrid will be in some warehouse district and not in the city centre at all: OMG…how exciting.

Barcelona is constantly the most boring race of the year.

It shouldn’t matter if it’s a street circuit or not. If the track provides good racing I don’t see what the problem is. A lot of people were doggin on Vegas yet it produced one of the best races we’ve had in 2023. The hate against street circuits are irrational when some of these proper tracks don’t even provide good racing.

That track is absolutely awful

I try not to dunk on street races too much but...really? Barcelona might not have been an interesting track until they got rid of the S3 chicane, but it has pedigree. It's one of the most recognizable circuits on the globe. And this store-brand Long Beach knockoff is supposed to replace it? Are you having a laugh?

I’m a COTA guy and hope that one stays for a long time

Formula e laughs in the corner 😂

Utter disgrace. Barcelona is actually a great circuit. An all-rounder as well. A lot of history and during the past couple of years it did a lot to improve the racing and change the layout back to what it originally was(I know Turn 10 is slightly different, but still similar to the pre-2004 version). To remove it off the calender is a HUGE shame and all F1 drivers and team members should protest against that.

I don't care where they race as long as Lance stroll isn't there !! That's the main problem with f1 pay drivers and daddy's rich boy

Polyphony Digital did it better

This feels like getting kicked in the balls for no reason Barcelona is my personal favourite track... Its the track I play by far the most of my time in the F1 game , it is the track I know best... Barcelona has no reason to get replaced , it has no trouble selling tickets ... why replace it with a street track?

Was Cataluña's circuit boring (for F1 cars)? Absolutely. Does it look like this circuit will be boring? Sure. Will the tickets be extremely expensive and the facilities be overcrowded due to poor planning by the authorities? You absolutely bet (see Madcool festival). I live close to Madrid, so yay for proximity. But I don't think I'll want to spend whatever they charge for a seat (since there will be no pelouse I suppose).

What timeline have we ended up on where FE is getting more permanent circuits and F1 more street circuits. Then you have Indycar fans wanting more ovals. Its seems like fans of every series are getting a bit screwed.

The only thing worse than a street race is an oval!

Follow the superior motorsport, MotoGP. We never race at street circuits.

Lol f1 is a show because of street teacks and sponsors, ppl be like oh poor teams they work so hard with 20 races ohh its to much work oh boho

Im starting to loathe the direction Formula 1 is taking.

What happened to Jamara ?? For crying out loud just go repair that track and host it there

I don’t like F1 racing in Barcelona because generally produces boring races. Said that, this Madrid layout looks awful for on-track action at a first glimpse!

People don't understand that even if we can all agree street circuit sucks (except Monaco and Singapore) there're more street circuit because it cost less than making a new classic circuit like spa or cota

There are at least three built-for tracks in Spain where F1 has raced, one even in Madrid... it's a shame we get yet another streer circuit

At least it will be better than Miami

👉 AS AN SPANISH 🇪🇸 🇪🇸 🇪🇸 This its a f***ing Joke, not even ME, the target customer of the GP, not even me, is happy about it. 😮‍💨

valencia part 2

Testing can only be done at a current F1 circuit so Barcelona will lose that in 2026.

Why not rotate barcelona and madrid? Barcelona 1 year and madrid the other year. then we have both:)