(Motorsport-Total.com) – The first Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring in the Spanish capital confirmed the fears of the Formula 1 drivers. While the track certainly provides excitement over a single lap, overtaking during the race proved almost impossible. Accordingly, there is a strong desire for changes to the layout.
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Even before the race, Max Verstappen had stated that he did not see a single real overtaking opportunity on the Madring. Speaking to Dutch media on Saturday, the Red Bull driver said: “Just give me the track map.” With that, he hinted that he would make numerous changes.
On Sunday, this impression was confirmed. Overtaking maneuvers were rare, which affected the mood after the first race on the new circuit accordingly. For the drivers, the Madring is fun over a single fast lap, but as a race track, it convinced only a few.
Antonelli: “In the race, you definitely get stuck behind the car in front”
When Motorsport.com noted after the race that almost some people fell asleep in the media center during the race, Gabriel Bortoleto replied: “I almost fell asleep too!”
Kimi Antonelli, who won the race, shares this assessment. The championship leader had enjoyed the track in qualifying but was significantly less satisfied with the race progress:
“It definitely offers no overtaking opportunities and does not invite you to try an attack because in 80 percent of cases you will probably have contact,” Antonelli explains. “Especially in the second chicane, I probably would have touched Lando, and we would likely have crashed into the wall and blocked the track. That definitely would not have been nice.”
“I think some corners need to be changed to create more overtaking opportunities. At the moment, it is nice over a single lap, but in the race, you definitely get stuck behind the car in front,” Antonelli continues.
Drivers see several weaknesses
It was already clear before the weekend that the drivers expected exactly this problem. At the same time, many of the drivers criticized that they were not involved in the planning of the new circuit. Verstappen explained that the drivers were involved in the design process in Jeddah after the safety problems in the first year. However, this was not the case with new tracks like the Madring.
For the future, the drivers therefore want more say. This also includes Oliver Bearman. The Haas driver had a serious accident in the third practice on Saturday and was subsequently unable to participate in qualifying.
“You just have to look at the layout, then it is pretty clear that it will be a bad track for racing,” Bearman replies to the question about the few overtaking maneuvers. “When you arrive and see this layout, you think: What are we supposed to do? It’s a bit of a shame.”
Bearman criticizes easy defense
From the Briton’s point of view, there are two main problems. Attacking is difficult, while defending is comparatively easy:
“You not only have many long, connected corner exits where it is really difficult to get power onto the track. There are also many connected corner entries. It is very easy to defend your position with somewhat more aggressive driving and therefore very difficult to attempt an overtaking maneuver.”
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“We already told the FIA on Friday. We have to look for a way to make the track a bit more interesting for us. It is definitely fun to drive, but in the race, it is very bad,” Bearman continues.
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Albon calls for changes for 2027
Alexander Albon had already gotten a taste of how difficult overtaking on the Madring would be in the junior series.
“I hope they are open to making some changes to the track next year. If the Formula 3 cars can’t overtake, you know there will be no overtaking all weekend,” says Albon.
In his opinion, no fundamental rebuilds would be necessary. “I think it just needs a few changes to fix the problem. Otherwise, honestly, it is not a bad track. It is quite fun to drive. But as seen in the races, it is quite boring.”
Albon targets corners 3 to 5
Albon sees improvement potential especially in the area between corners 3 and 5. “A lot revolves around corner 3 to corner 5. I think this whole area needs to be redesigned, maybe with straighter braking zones. We need to remove this chicane. It is good for the show, but not good for racing.”
According to Albon, corner 13 should also be improved: “And as great as the banking is, it doesn’t really work well enough in corner 13. Corner 13 might need to be slower and have a bigger braking zone.”
Besides the fundamental problem of the chicane from corners 5 and 6, Gabriele Bortoleto sees another disadvantage there: “The jump in corner 5. If you do that 50 laps, you get quite a strong headache at the end of the race. So it is not exactly easy on our bodies.”
Norris wants to remove corners 18 and 19
Lando Norris also has a concrete proposal for a change. The current world champion would significantly simplify the last section of the Madring and speaks clearly:
“I think there are some obvious changes they should make. They should remove corners 18 and 19. They are useless. Instead, there should be a longer straight leading to a hairpin. I don’t know how anyone looks at this design and says: ‘Perfect.’ In my opinion, there are many possibilities.”
Norris is guided in part by the Circuit of The Americas in Austin. “For me, it is not a great race track. It is great in qualifying. But a straight from 17 directly to 20 would be better in my opinion, with a much wider entry like in corner 1 or corner 10 in Austin, so a big hairpin. That would create much better opportunities for everyone and you could enjoy the race.”
Further changes could follow
Norris also sees more complicated tasks ahead for those responsible besides simple measures. “There are some easy changes and maybe some harder ones, like at corners 5, 6, and 7. It is hard to know exactly what the best solution is. I hope they implement changes because then it should become more exciting for everyone.”
Besides corners 5 and 6 as well as the section 18 and 19, the drivers want another change. Namely, a much shorter pit lane. This could make additional pit stops more attractive and thus provide more strategic options during the race.
The Madring could thus be revised even before its second Formula 1 race. The drivers apparently do not want to question the fundamental character of the track. Their goal is rather to combine the existing qualities of the course with better conditions for exciting races.
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