P1racenews AI automatic summary:
F1 has signed a 10-year deal with Madrid to stage a race in the Spanish capital from 2026, making a renewal for the Barcelona circuit beyond its current ’26 expiry highly unlikely. Is that a downgrade or an improvement?
“I would be surprised if a jam-packed future F1 calendar has room for two Spanish races, so while Barcelona’s F1 race is not definitely heading for the axe its future is at least in the balance. There’s not a lot I would miss at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. For a long time it seemed to resist the necessary improvements as an event and a facility, and fell below the standard of a world championship. Efforts have been made to rectify that but it is one of F1’s weaker events. It is also, almost without exception, a dull grand prix. The track is not good for racing, especially in F1 cars. And it would be in my bottom three for sure. There is one thing about it that I’ll lament the loss of, though. This circuit brings out the best in F1 cars, and by extension the best in drivers. The ratio of high-speed sweeps and medium-speed corners really do let the best-performing machines flex their muscles, even if there are still the usual limitations like tyre management, and it has been the site of some absolutely crushing performances in recent years by the likes of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. When a driver is in full flow here and the car is letting them throw it around with abandon, the result is pretty stunning. And devastating for the opposition. That will simply not be replicated by yet another street circuit (or semi-street track or however Madrid ends up being characterised). OK, so another destination city street circuit. That’s great and it conforms to F1’s business plan nicely. But just thinking below F1 for a moment, to the lower categories and the racing network and community which is built up around permanent tracks like the Circuit de Catalunya. These teams in junior categories of racing provide the future talent the top category draws from – drivers and engineers. They need a healthy contained environment in which to flourish and Barcelona, just like Silverstone, helps provide this. Suppliers and specialists can all be geographically close and this raises the standard of the teams. If the track loses its grand prix – which has not yet been confirmed – how long would it be able to stay in business? As well as chasing the money, F1 also needs to consider the grassroots which supplies it with the new.”
