The Spanish GP Watchlist
Get the inside track with five things you need to know as Formula 1 makes history in Madrid
Published
10 SEP 2026
Est. reading time
4 min
Atlassian Williams F1 Team is in Madrid for Round 14 of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
This weekend marks the first ever Grand Prix at the brand-new Circuito de Madring, as Formula 1 races in the Spanish capital for the first time in 45 years.
With no historical data to lean on, every team starts from a blank sheet of paper, immediately making this one of the most intriguing weekends of the season.
Here are five things to look out for at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Return to Madrid
Our FW07C alongside the FW48 that will race in Madrid
While the Madring is fresh out of its box, our history in this city runs deep.
Formula 1 last raced in Madrid in 1981, at the Circuito de Jarama just north of the capital. It was a weekend that saw Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann carry Williams towards that year's Constructors' Championship in the FW07C.
Jarama holds an even more special place in our story, too: the 1977 Spanish Grand Prix was our first ever race as a works team, marking the very beginning of the journey that has brought us to nine Constructors' titles.
To celebrate our return to the city, the FW48 will run a special one-off livery this weekend, reviving the iconic colours of the FW07C, with Carlos Sainz pulling the covers off at our Fan Zone in Plaza de Callao earlier this week.
La Monumental
Alex checks out La Monumental on his track walk
Every great circuit needs a signature corner, and the Madring's arrives at Turn 12.
Named La Monumental after one of the city's famous bullrings, this 550-metre banked right-hander is the new longest corner in Formula 1 – and with its 24% gradient, it features the steepest banking the FIA permits.
Drivers will arrive at close to 300km/h and spend around six seconds sweeping across the banking, all in front of a grandstand complex holding thousands of fans.
Pirelli expects the corner to generate the highest vertical load of the entire season, and with different lines possible across its width, expect plenty of experimentation as drivers hunt for the fastest way through.
More than just one corner
La Monumental may grab the headlines, but there are 21 other challenges packed into this 5.416km lap.
The Madring will become the 78th different venue to host a Formula 1 World Championship race, weaving purpose-built sections through the Valdebebas district together with public roads around the IFEMA exhibition centre.
Highlights include the plunge downhill at El Búnker, named after nearby Spanish Civil War fortifications, and the 837m blast along Ribera del Sena – the longest straight on the circuit, where speeds are expected to touch 340km/h before heavy braking into Turn 4.
Add in 26 metres of elevation change across the opening sector and a slow, tight Turn 20, there is plenty for drivers to sink their teeth into.
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Neighbours moved out
One quirk of the Madring you might spot on TV this weekend: we're a little further from our usual paddock neighbours than normal.
The pit lane in Madrid is a long one, and the garage allocations mean split in the middle, so there's a gap of more than 100 metres between ourselves and the VCARB garage next door – so popping round for some milk or sugar when we’re low will take slightly longer than usual.
On a more serious note, that lengthy pit lane comes with a genuine sporting consequence: the time lost making a pit stop here will be among the higher figures on the calendar.
That adds yet another variable for the strategists to weigh up on a weekend already full of unknowns, with the value of track position and the cost of an extra stop, magnified accordingly.
Home sweet home
This weekend is a special one for one member of our driver line-up in particular.
Carlos was born in Madrid and took his very first steps in motorsport in this city, honing his craft on local karting circuits long before Formula 1 came calling.
Now, CS55 finally gets to race a Formula 1 car on home soil in the truest sense – don't be surprised if Carlos finds an extra tenth or two this weekend fueled by his home fans.
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