(Motorsport-Total.com) – Formula 1 looks to the race debut on the new Madring with a mix of anticipation and respect. While qualifying on Saturday offered a spectacular chase at the limit, the drivers expect a completely different scenario for the Grand Prix on Sunday.
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The extremely grippy asphalt and the tricky layout are expected to force the drivers to radically rethink. Instead of full-throttle spectacle, tire survival will be the focus – and this could take on some rather curious aspects.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli sums up the strategic approach for the early phase of the race pointedly: “Probably in the first ten laps, it will be driving like grandma.”
The Italian warns of the pitfalls of the new street circuit. In the long runs during practice, they already saw how extreme tire degradation can be, “especially if you push too early.”
Since the behavior of the hardest tire compound under race conditions is still a big question mark, Antonelli expects a tactical blind flight: “Maybe we go into the race and the wear is much lower, we just have to find that out ourselves at the moment,” he says.
He also does not rule out strategies with two or even three stops. The key lies especially in the first stint: you have to preserve the tires as best as possible without losing too much lap time.
High grip prevents major chaos
The reason the Madring demands so much from the tires is paradoxically one of its most positive features: the enormous grip level. This also ensured that the red flag orgy expected by many in the premier class has so far not occurred.
Lando Norris, who admitted to completely overdoing the braking point in the last corner of his pole lap and thought he would inevitably end up in the wall, draws a mixed conclusion. Overall, there have been fewer accidents than people expected, says the Brit.
The high grip compensates for a lot. Also, there are fewer tricky curbs at the corner exits here, which often lead to crashes on other street circuits. For the race, Norris still expects a gigantic challenge in high temperatures: “It will be a long race. It will be hot, and I guess each of us will have a lot to learn out there.”
Max Verstappen, who always emphasizes the extremely high error susceptibility on street circuits, is also impressed by the grip level. When you are constantly operating at the limit, concentration on a street circuit is always harder to maintain. “It’s easy to make a mistake that ends with hitting the wall,” says the world champion.
However, the high grip level helps massively, so on Sunday it will ultimately only be about a clean drive and managing tire degradation.
Track comparison: “Monaco is much harder”
Despite the tight walls, Lando Norris resists stylizing the Madring as the ultimate street circuit monster. Asked about the appeal of a qualifying lap, the McLaren driver assesses the track with nuance: “Honestly, I think Monaco is a much harder track, especially because there are guardrails everywhere there.”
New Formula 1 tracks since 2000
In Madrid, on the other hand, there are sections where you can cut corners or correct mistakes through small runoff areas. The risk in Monaco is significantly higher.
At the same time, the Madring lacks the brutal speed of a track like Jeddah, which feels much closer to the limit from a high-speed perspective. “Madrid is somewhere in between,” analyzes Norris. “A bit like Singapore or Baku, with a tendency towards Jeddah. It’s a mix of everything.” There are many slow sections and only a few real high-speed corners.
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The overtaking dilemma and the “Dirty Air”
However, this very corner characteristic causes the drivers enormous headaches regarding racing. Already after qualifying, Verstappen criticized the design of the braking zones, which do not allow overtaking because you have to turn in while braking. The track planners’ arguments that there was no room for other layouts are dismissed by the Dutchman as “bullshit” – there is always a way to create overtaking opportunities.
How difficult following on the Madring actually is, Kimi Antonelli painfully experienced in practice when he was stuck behind a Williams for laps. “It will be very difficult. Especially because tire degradation is so high, you start to slide more as soon as you follow. That makes life even harder,” explains Antonelli.
The only tactic is to put massive pressure on the car ahead, force it into a mistake, or ruin its tires.
Carlos Sainz echoes this. The Spaniard said he had already suggested changes to Turn 5 a year ago, as from a driver’s perspective this is the only realistic overtaking spot on the track. The organizers were skeptical about the lack of space. Sainz nevertheless demands: “We have to find a way to make this spot an easier overtaking opportunity.”
“La Monumental”: Between full-throttle dream and battery frustration
A special highlight of the track was supposed to be the banked corner “La Monumental.” But here too, the realities of modern Formula 1 somewhat dampen the driving fun. Max Verstappen would have loved to take the steep corner flat out in qualifying, but technology thwarted him.
“I wanted to stay flat on the gas, but then my battery dies, so you lift a bit to be able to discharge energy better later. That’s my Monumental experience,” Verstappen dryly sums up. Due to the enormous downforce of the Formula 1 cars, the corner is actually no problem; the real limit is dictated by energy management.
Lando Norris sees a need for improvement in the track layout for the future anyway. He wishes for more corners with strong banking next year to improve racing. “La Monumental” is a fun corner but could simply be designed better.
Pit lane frustration: “Six kilometers” to the stop?
But not only the track layout on the asphalt but also the infrastructure beside it causes head shaking in the paddock. The pit lane, which runs through a trade fair hall of the IFEMA grounds, is also in the spotlight for many drivers.
Lando Norris jokes bitterly: “The pit lane feels six kilometers long!” It is the longest of the year and causes the biggest time loss during a stop.
This very time loss directly contradicts the high tire wear predicted by Antonelli. High degradation actually demands many pit stops, but the gigantic time loss strategically prevents the teams from doing so. “It robs you of any desire to come to the pits and try different strategies,” Norris complains.
When planning such an expensive new facility, a short pit lane must be an absolute priority to enable tactical variety. The McLaren driver even has a radical improvement suggestion since the pit lane is divided anyway: “Limiter off, and then later turn the limiter back on.”
Kimi Antonelli has an even more pragmatic solution for the structural problem of the pit lane, which he suggests laughingly: “Just tear down the building that stands in the middle.”
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