![\"\u2018A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MadringFirstLap_F1.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCarlos Sainz completes a lap of the new Madring circuit. Image: F1.com<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCarlos Sainz completes a lap of the new Madring circuit. Image: F1.com<\/p>\n
The new 5.4-kilometre, 22-corner circuit will host the Spanish Grand Prix in September, marking F1\u2019s return to Madrid for the first time since 1981 and beginning a 10-year agreement running through to 2035.<\/p>\n
Sainz, who was born and raised in Madrid and serves as an ambassador for the event, sampled the fully asphalted circuit in a Ford Mustang GT as preparations continue for the inaugural race.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something very difficult to describe for me because it\u2019s something that I always dreamed about, just having the opportunity to race at my hometown,\u201d Sainz said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMadrid is a great city, a city that I\u2019ve always talked well about, a city that now is getting to be known quite a bit more and that now having this Formula 1 track will be amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hybrid circuit combines public roads around the IFEMA Madrid exhibition centre complex with purpose-built sections near the city\u2019s Barajas airport, as organisers aim to create a layout focused on overtaking and spectacle.<\/p>\n
Sainz immediately identified several passing opportunities around the lap, including the opening complex and the heavy braking zone following the circuit\u2019s longest straight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis first part is very enjoyable; this is where we\u2019ll really see how we fight the car,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
After Turn 3, drivers will tackle a flat-out section stretching more than 800 metres, where speeds are expected to exceed 320km\/h, with Sainz saying battery management would be \u201ccrucial\u201d through that part of the circuit.<\/p>\n
The Madrid native added that the circuit changes character dramatically once it transitions into the faster, more open second sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go from a very tight, more like a street style area\u2026 to suddenly a blind corner that you see absolutely nothing and then suddenly the whole track opens up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like you go through a screen and you go into a different world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sainz highlighted the fast corners through the middle part of the circuit as one of the standout features of the layout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is incredible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where we\u2019ll enjoy a Formula 1 car at its absolute best.\u201d<\/p>\n
The defining feature of the circuit is the banked Turn 12 section known as La Monumental, a 550-metre sweeping corner inspired by a traditional bullring and featuring 24 percent banking.<\/p>\n
Sainz admitted the corner caught him by surprise during his first laps.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what impressed me the most,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought La Monumental would just have banking, but suddenly it\u2019s not only banked\u2014it\u2019s also blind.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve created quite a cocktail.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first full lap of Madring! \ud83e\udd29<\/p>\n
Carlos Sainz takes the honour of driving the first laps of the new track in Spain! \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8#F1<\/a> #SpanishGP<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/fDnlKW2b8T<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) May 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The corner is expected to become one of the visual centrepieces of the F1 calendar, with grandstands for around 45,000 spectators surrounding the section.<\/p>\n At the exit of La Monumental, drivers crest a rise where visibility briefly disappears entirely.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can only see the sky,\u201d Sainz explained.<\/p>\n He also compared the high-speed Valdebebas esses to some of F1\u2019s most famous circuits.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really reminds me of Spa and Silverstone because they are super-fast corners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Sainz admitted the circuit exceeded his expectations after seeing the completed layout for the first time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was honestly impressive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t expect to have so much fun. I didn\u2019t expect it to be so flowing, so wide.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can lean on the car for so long. If we\u2019re going this fast in this, imagine what it\u2019ll be like in a Formula 1 car.\u201d<\/p>\n The Williams driver also reflected on the significance of bringing F1 back to the Spanish capital after a 45-year absence.<\/p>\n \u201cI was 10 at the time and I was surprised how the city welcomed my Dad,\u201d Sainz said, recalling a demonstration run involving his father, two-time World Rally champion Carlos Sainz Sr.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were thousands and thousands of people along the main street of Madrid and that\u2019s maybe the first time that I got a taste to realise how much motorsport fans there are in Madrid also and I\u2019m sure it will not be anything less or even much more here, so it\u2019s going to be incredible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring takes place from September 11-13.<\/p>\n