{"id":895575,"date":"2026-09-14T15:50:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T15:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/895575\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T15:50:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T15:50:28","slug":"layout-changes-expected-next-year-at-new-f1-track-in-madrid-to-make-racing-more-exciting-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/895575\/","title":{"rendered":"Layout changes expected next year at new F1 track in Madrid to make racing more exciting \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

MADRID (AP) \u2014 Changes are expected to the new Madring track next year after its lackluster debut at the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.<\/p>\n

Organizers said they are open to trying to improve the layout that produced virtually no overtaking opportunities and drew widespread criticism from Formula 1 drivers. The lack of track action was criticized by fans as well as F1 returned to Madrid after a 45-year absence.<\/p>\n

Event director Luis Garc\u00eda Abad said that governing body FIA has already indicated the changes that might be needed on the urban track that mixes existing roads and purpose-built sections. Madrid signed a 10-year contract to be on the F1 calendar.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"McLaren
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMcLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain steers his car during the qualifying session ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix in Madrid, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manu Fernandez)<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, to be honest, FIA has clearly defined how to improve the circuit layout, and we will be open to that because we will have to refurbish the circuit for next year,\u201d Abad told Motorsport.com.<\/p>\n

Mercedes\u2019 Kimi Antonelli won Sunday\u2019s race after pole-sitter Lando Norris caught an unlucky break with the timing of the deployment of the virtual safety car. Norris ended third, behind Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there are some obvious changes they should make,\u201d Norris said. \u201cI think they can make it into a track that\u2019s good for racing, and I\u2019m excited to come back here next year if they can make these changes because I think it\u2019s a track that is good fun to drive and it can be a great racetrack. To me, it\u2019s not a great racetrack. It\u2019s great in qualifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Norris was among those who praised the high-adrenaline laps that the circuit produced when cars were not battling for position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really believe that the drivers enjoyed qualifying a lot. But for sure we will try to make an improvement for next year,\u201d Abad said. \u201cWe have the space, we have a venue, we have the facilities, we have the capacity to do it. If we can improve something, we will do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only a few passes happened during the race at the 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) circuit that has 22 corners and combines high-speed zones, heavy-braking areas, changes of gradient, blind angles, technical sectors and long, high-load corners that proved challenging for drivers.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Sign<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely doesn\u2019t create overtaking opportunities and it doesn\u2019t push you to try and make a move,\u201d Antonelli said. \u201cI think there are some corners that need to be changed to create more overtaking opportunities because right now, yes, it\u2019s nice over one lap, but for sure in the race, you know, you\u2019re just stuck behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drivers mostly praised the infrastructure of the new circuit that was built around exhibition-hall pavilions in an affluent area of the Spanish capital.<\/p>\n

Norris had also called for changes to the track\u2019s long pit lane, which is divided in two sections and discourages strategic pit stops.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\n See AP\u2019s full auto racing coverage here<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MADRID (AP) \u2014 Changes are expected to the new Madring track next year after its lackluster debut at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":895576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-895575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=895575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/895576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=895575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=895575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=895575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}