MADRING is ready

MADRING is ready. With just two days to go before the first cars take to the track, the circuit is going through its final hours of preparation and the paddock is beginning to come to life. The teams are unloading their equipment, the motorhomes are taking shape, the garages are being made ready, the grandstands are receiving their final cleaning works and the paint is putting the finishing touches to a track that is already waiting for Formula 1.

A debut that has attracted interest both inside and outside Spain

The public response has matched, from the very beginning, the anticipation generated by the return of Formula 1 to Madrid 45 years on. The Grand Prix arrives at its first edition with all available tickets sold out and a forecast of up to 130,000 visitors per day, within a weekend that will come close to 350,000 cumulative attendances.

The profile of the fans also reflects the reach achieved by MADRING’s debut. More than 60% of the audience comes from Spain, while close to 40% will travel from other countries, an international presence that is particularly significant for a first edition.

Among the foreign markets, the standouts are the United Kingdom, with almost 6% of the total; the United States, at around 5%; and Mexico, with figures close to 4%. Next come France, the Netherlands and Portugal, outlining a Grand Prix with a strong European presence and, at the same time, a notable ability to attract visitors from the Americas.

Madrid, as host, will be the main point of origin of the audience. More than 40% of the total comes from the Region of Madrid, approximately seven out of every ten Spanish fans. The city alone accounts for close to a third of all attendees. Beyond the region, Andalusia and Catalonia are the Spanish territories with the greatest representation, followed by the Region of Valencia.

A distribution that turns the sold out not only into an occupancy figure, but into the expression of the anticipation generated around a new event on the calendar and the return of Formula 1 to Madrid.

Also completely sold out are the tickets for Carlos Sainz, MADRING ambassador and a native of Madrid, who will experience a particularly significant moment as he races in a Formula 1 Grand Prix at home for the first time.

A track designed to challenge the drivers

MADRING arrives at its debut with a layout that combines some of the ingredients that have turned the great circuits on the calendar into classics: fast, linked corners, blind angles, changes in gradient, demanding braking zones and areas where the margin for error is reduced to a minimum.

Along its 5.4 kilometres and 22 corners, the drivers will find very fast sectors, blind angles, and walls very close to the racing line.

Its philosophy is at times reminiscent of some of the great European layouts: the speed of the linked corners of circuits such as Spa-Francorchamps or Silverstone or the chicane in the Swimming Pool section at Monaco, combined with more technical areas close to the walls that will demand absolute precision.

And in the middle of it all is La Monumental, Turn 12 and the one destined to become MADRING’s great visual icon. At 547.82 metres in length, with a maximum banking of 24% and close to ten metres of height difference between its lower and upper sections, the cars will spend around six seconds turning on it before launching into one of the fastest sectors of the layout.

Madrid will also be inside the circuit

MADRING’s debut will not be limited to what happens on the asphalt.

The gastronomy, the music, the meeting spaces and the very names of the Fan Zones and of the circuit’s different hospitality spaces will include nods to Madrid and to Spain, seeking to make the experience go beyond the on-track sessions. Gastronomy, entertainment, music and that spirit of tardeo and celebration so closely linked to the city will accompany the competition to turn the first Grand Prix into an experience that begins long before the cars go out on track and that will continue after the chequered flag.

For more than a year, MADRING has been a construction site. This week, the machinery has begun to disappear, the teams are taking their places and the paddock is starting its activity.

On Friday 11 September, at last, the track will speak.

All the information about the Grand Prix is available on the new MADRING app, on social media and on the official website. The organisers remind attendees to check their ticket and their access points in order to choose the most convenient route.