There was a lot of excitement surrounding Madring’s arrival on the Formula 1 calendar. After years of Madrid being associated with motorsport and with a new circuit promising to bring Formula 1 back to the Spanish capital, many fans were genuinely looking forward to seeing what the event could offer.
And, to be fair, Madring was given the benefit of the doubt.
A new Formula 1 event needs time. New venues rarely arrive perfectly polished, and expectations were high from the beginning. But after experiencing the first race weekend on site, one thing became clear: Madring has potential, but there is still a considerable amount of work to be done before it can become the kind of Grand Prix its organizers clearly want it to be.
The biggest problem was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the racing itself.
The inaugural race was tremendously dull, with very little overtaking and not much on-track action to keep fans engaged. While Formula 1 has never guaranteed an exciting race simply because a new circuit has been introduced, the layout did little to help create opportunities for battles.
Max Verstappen was among those who criticized the circuit during the weekend, and after seeing the race unfold, it was difficult not to understand why. The track is certainly visually interesting and has several distinctive sections, but its current configuration does not seem to provide enough opportunities for drivers to race closely.
That is something that could potentially be addressed.
If Madring is going to remain on the calendar for years to come, it would be worth considering whether some sections of the circuit could be redesigned to improve the racing. A few changes to create more overtaking opportunities and allow cars to follow each other more closely could make a significant difference.
Because there is something important to remember about Madring: the circuit itself is not without potential.
The problem is that the first race did not really showcase it.
Perhaps the most entertaining moment of the Grand Prix came from the two local heroes rather than from the battle for the podium. Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, the two Spanish drivers competing in front of their home crowd, were involved in an incident that resulted in contact between them and a brief disagreement afterward.
It was, ironically, one of the moments that generated the most conversation around the race.
For a Spanish audience that had been waiting to see both drivers competing at a home Grand Prix, having Alonso and Sainz involved in an on-track incident was certainly memorable. But it also highlighted how little happened elsewhere during the race.
And while the racing was disappointing, the bigger concerns became apparent away from the track.
Madring simply did not feel finished.
The circuit itself may have been ready to host a Formula 1 race, but many of the surrounding facilities still appeared to be a work in progress. Throughout the weekend, there was a noticeable feeling that the event had been put together quickly and that some of the infrastructure had not yet reached the standard expected from a modern Formula 1 Grand Prix.
One of the most frustrating examples was basic but important: water.
By the middle of the Formula 1 race, reports emerged that several of the water stations around the circuit had already run out. At the same time, queues for refreshments were extremely long.
For an event that attracts tens of thousands of people, this is not a minor detail. Fans are spending hours walking around a circuit, often under the sun, and access to water should be one of the most basic elements of event organization.
The same issue extended to the fan zones.
They did not really feel like fan zones.
There were some activities available, including a karting area in one of the zones, but overall the selection was surprisingly limited. For an event trying to establish itself as one of Madrid’s major international sporting occasions, there was little for fans to do once they had arrived at the circuit beyond watching the racing.
There were also only three merchandise stores, which felt particularly limited considering the size of the crowd and the importance of Formula 1 merchandise to the modern Grand Prix experience.
This is an area where Madring has an obvious opportunity to improve.
Modern Formula 1 fans are not simply buying a ticket to watch a two-hour race. They expect an entire experience around it: entertainment, food, merchandise, activities, access to drivers and teams when possible, and reasons to arrive early and stay late.
Madring currently has the space to create that experience. It just hasn’t done so yet.
The organization of the paddock was another major issue, particularly for those working at the circuit.
The paddock felt poorly organized, with important areas located far away from each other. For spectators, this may not have been particularly noticeable. For journalists, photographers, team personnel and other people working throughout the weekend, however, it made moving around the circuit unnecessarily complicated and uncomfortable.
A Formula 1 paddock is essentially a workplace for thousands of people during a Grand Prix weekend. Efficiency matters. When media facilities, hospitality areas, team operations and other working spaces are spread out without an intuitive flow, the result is a paddock that feels much more difficult to navigate than it needs to be.
There was, however, one aspect of Madring that worked surprisingly well: getting there and getting out.
The venue is enormous and benefits from having multiple access points connected to major roads. Despite the size of the event, arrival at the circuit was relatively efficient, and leaving after the race was not the logistical nightmare that many large sporting events can become.
That is an important advantage for Madrid.
The city is already well connected, and Madring’s location and surrounding road infrastructure could become one of its strengths as the event matures. If the organizers can maintain that efficiency while improving the internal experience of the circuit, it could make a significant difference to fans attending in future years.
Ultimately, Madring’s debut left a strange impression.
It did not feel like a disaster. It felt unfinished.
There is a difference.
The foundations are there. The circuit exists, the infrastructure has room to grow, access is relatively efficient and Madrid itself is an enormous city capable of supporting a major international sporting event.
But Formula 1 is an incredibly demanding environment, and simply having a circuit capable of hosting a Grand Prix is not enough. The experience surrounding the race matters just as much, particularly when ticket prices and travel costs make attending a Grand Prix a significant investment for fans.
Madring has the potential to become a good race and a 10 year contract ahead.
But the organizers will need to listen to the feedback from this first edition and be willing to make changes. The track could benefit from modifications that encourage better racing, while the fan experience needs significantly more activities, better food and beverage logistics, more merchandise options and a better-organized paddock.
The first year was always going to be a learning experience.
The question now is what Madring does with what it learned.
Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar was back behind the wheel of his RB22, continuing his work with Red Bull as the season moves forward.
At the top of the championship, Kimi Antonelli remains in the lead with 292 points, 81 points ahead of George Russell and 101 ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
The Formula 1 calendar now moves on to Azerbaijan for the next round of the championship.
Madring may have left fans wanting more, but perhaps that is not necessarily the end of the story.
Madrid has a Formula 1 race.
Now it needs to turn it into an experience worthy of one.
