Spanish Grand Prix 2026: F1 stars express fears over car ‘killer’ Madring circuit

The F1 grid has expressed safety concerns over the “mental” new Madring circuit dubbed the “car killer”.

The danger of the Spanish Grand Prix was on full display as F2 driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak slammed into the wall and his car ended up in an inferno just after turn 19, during Free Practice at F1’s first new venue in three years.

The Thai driver scrambled to safety and was unharmed, but it had F1 drivers on edge.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen, known for being fearless, said the Madring was a potential “car killer.”

Lewis Hamilton added it is the most difficult track he had seen since Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

“It’s a massively challenging circuit. Like, of all the new tracks that I’ve gone to, this one and Saudi Arabia are like the two closest in terms of how difficult it was to get on top of the car and find the right lines.”

George Russell was also on edge.

“Christ. This circuit is mental. I would put this as a circuit as having less margin than Monaco. Purely because of the speed,” he told reporters.

“In Monaco, the walls are closer, but because you’re going slower, if you make a mistake, you’re not into the wall as quickly.”

It was a similar sentiment shared by the rest of the grid.

Piastri said: “If I drove like I did in the simulator, I would’ve destroyed a lot of cars.”

Pierre Gasly added: “I crashed into basically every wall. I’d bet on a red flag.”

Alex Albon told reporters, “There are inevitably going to be a few crashes” and Sergio Pérez said, “It’s a bit scary.”

The potential dangers of the Madring circuit was flagged back in August, as during a chaotic two-day test for Formula 3, an incredible 19 red flags came out.

And it wasn’t like it was just at one or two turns, it was all over the new circuit.

The track itself is 5.4km with 22 corners, where cars reach speeds of up to 340 km/h in certain sections.

Russell said during Friday’s media day it’s the most dangerous track on the whole F1 calendar.

“It’s a crazy circuit. I would put it as arguably the most risky circuit of the whole calendar because you have real high-speed corners, sort of Jeddah-esque,” he said.

“The walls are very close, so there’s no margin for error. When I heard about the 19 red flags in F3, I was a bit surprised. And then after I drove on the sim, I was surprised there were only 19 red flags.”

The 2026 Spanish Grand Prix will take place on Sunday night (AEST).