I sat in the GE21 grandstand at the Madring Formula 1 circuit for the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid last year.
In this review I’ll share my thoughts on sitting in this stand, plus I’ve included a video that shows the views from different seats. I’ll also give my top tips on where the best seats are in this grandstand, a full seating chart and some info on how I bought my Spanish GP tickets for half the official price.
GE21 grandstand location
Grandstand GE21 is on the left hand side (outside) of the circuit between turns 15 and 16. Directly to its left is grandstand GE22 and to its right is GE20.
Turn 15 that comes just before this stand is quite a fast left hander, and Turn 16 is a much tighter right hander. As the cars pass this stand they start off coming past at high speed and then begin their braking for Turn 16. But you don’t really see either of those corners here, instead you just see the cars on the straight bit of the circuit that links them.
This is not a good spot for overtaking (just like the rest of the track) and you won’t see much on-track action here apart from the cars zooming past.
Zone
GE21 is in the Madring Norte (North) part of the circuit and specifically it’s in the Distrito Fan Zone. This is the biggest fan zone at the track so theres a lot of other activities to keep you busy here when you’re not sat in the grandstand.
To access this grandstand I had to enter via the E gates. Because I’d arrived on the other side of the circuit I initially tried entering via the D but the security didn’t let me. So instead I had a 35 minute walk on the streets to get round to the E gates which was a pain.
What I should have done was use the public transport trains to get to Valdebabas train station in the morning, which is only a short walk from the E gates. I planned on doing that at the end of the day but the queue for the station was crazy, so I walked to the San Lorenzo metro station instead which was about 30 minutes away and there was no queue.
GE21 is shown as part of the the Curva 15 Bronze grandstand on the Madring website in Zone E as part of the the Curvas enlazadas area.
But confusingly Curva 15 bronze isn’t just one stand, it’s made up of grandstands GE21, 20 and 19.
Grandstand tickets - Madring F1
I bought my 3-day ticket for about half what they officially cost using ViaGoGo where I’ve always managed to find a bit of a bargain.
I left it quite last minute to buy my tickets, which I did aroundt 1 week before the Grand Prix. ViaGoGo is great for last-minute purchases as they almost always have a great selection of tickets available right up until the final day of the race weekend, even when they’re sold out elsewhere.
They also offer one-day tickets which are cheaper and also mean you could try different grandstands on different days to get a change of views.
I’ve used ViaGoGo lots of times in the past few seasons for buying F1 tickets, including for my other most recent trips to Montreal and Silverstone for the F1. I’ve always had a great experience using them and I’ll happily do so again next time.
Grandstand details
TV Screens
There’s one big TV screen directly opposite this stand.
Seats
The seats are plastic chairs.
Cover
There’s no shade for this grandstand and it faces directly South so the sun will be blasting you all day long.
It was too hot to sit here for most of the afternoon so when the F1 cars weren’t on the track me and pretty much everyone else in the grandstand left our seats and went to seek shade in the fan zone.
Grandstand GE21 seating chart
Below is the seating chart for Grandstand GE21 at the Madring Formula 1 circuit.
The grandstand is 27 rows high with Row 1 being lowest down at the front andRow 27 is highest up at the back.
Seat numbers start at 1 on the right hand side of the stand and increase up to 228 on the left hand side (if you imagine you’re standing on the circuit looking at the grandstand).
Accommodation
The map below shows the accommodation options near the Madring circuit. The track itself is a little way out of the city, but the staying close to it is a good idea if you want to try and avoid the massive queues for the public transport at the end of the day.
Alternatively you can do what I do and stay in central Madrid to enjoy the city when you’re not at the track.
Have a look around the map to see all the different options and their location compared to the track:
View
On the circuit map below the parts of the track you can see from this stand are shown in green:
Being honest, the view from this stand isn’t that good. All you can see is the very end of Turn 15 on your right, and then the straight bit of track directly in front of you. You can’t see anything of Turn 16 to the left. You’ll see the cars for a couple of seconds max as they come past you, and you’ll spend most of your time watching the action on the screen in front of you.
The only exception to that is if you’re on the extreme left hand side of the stand in the higher rows. From there you can also see a bit of Turn 16 which improves you view greatly, which you can see at the end of the video below. In this video I’ve shown the views from different seats to give you an idea of what to expect from this stand.
The views in this video were taken from the following seats:
- Seat 1 Row 27
- Seat 8 Row 13
- Seat 49 Row 2
- Seat 68 Row 15
- Seat 72 Row 11
- Seat 132 Row 8
- Seat 185 Row 2
- Seat 213 Row 27
- Seat 228 Row 9
Best seats
If you can get seats on the extreme left hand side in seat numbers 210 or above, in rows 10 and up, then you can actually see Turn 16. So those are the best seats in the GE21 grandstand at the Madring.
