Madring F1 circuit layout
The Madring Formula 1 circuit, officially named Circuito de Madring, is a ‘street’ circuit constructed in the Valdebebas area of Madrid, Spain, about 10km North-East of the city centre .
I’ve put street in inverted commas because some parts of it do use sections that are normally public roads, whilst other parts are newly constructed and purpose built.
Turns 3 to 7 run on public roads. Turns 8 to 18 are all newly constructed bits of track specifically for the race. Then turns 19 to 22 run on roads that were previously used as access / services roads for the IFEMA exhibition and conference centre. The M-11 motorway actually goes over the circuit as well, dividing it in to North and South zones (Norte and Sur),
Madring circuit facts
- Length: 5.414 km (3.364 miles)
- Number of turns: 22
- Width: 12 metres, exceptthe main straight and Turn 1 which are 15 metres wide
- Lowest point: Turn 2 at 671m above sea level
- Highest point: Turn 7 at 697 metres above sea level
- Elevation change: 26 metres
- Longest straight: Between Turns 3 and 4 ‘ Ribera del Sena’ at 837 metres. The start / finish straight is just 589 metres long.
- Designer: Jarno Zafelli, Dromo
- First race: 2026
La Monumental
As the circuit was being finalised, the organisers of the Spanish Grand Prix made a lot of noise about La Monumental corner which is Turn 12. This is an artificially banked corner with an incline of around 24% – around 13.5 degrees – which is the maximum the FIA allow for an F1 circuit.
The top of the banking is about 10 metres higher than the bottom. The corner is long – 547 metres to be exact – goes on for about 6 seconds and is almost a 270 degree turn.
The circuit designers crammed as many grandstands around this signature corner, in the end allowing around 45,000 spectators to have a view of different parts of this turn. But with the cars going through here at just under 300kph – not quite flat out – the spectators only see a glimpse of them. And it’s not a place any of the F1 drivers managed to overtake either.
Straight mode & overtake mode
The Madring F1 circuit has two places where straight mode can be enabled, allowing the F1 drivers to activate their active aerodynamics on their front and rear wings, reducing drag.
Straight mode at Madring can be enabled along the start / finish straight, and along the Ribera del Sena straight between turns 3 and 4.
Overtake mode at the Madring circuit is only in one location. The dectection point for this is as the drivers approach the final corner, Turn 22. If a following car is within 1 second of the car ahead at this detection point they’ll be given extra battery power when they reach the Overtake activation point on the exit of the final corner.
Lap records
So far only F1, F2 and F3 cars have raced on the Madring circuit. Below are the official lap records for each of those series (set during a race), plus the unofficial fastest recorded lap for each which would have been set during qualifying when the cars were lighter with minimal fuel and had fresh tyres.
F1 lap record Madring
- Qualifying: Lando Norris driving for McLaren took pole position in 2026 with a 1m31.824s — the fastest-ever lap of the Madring circuit and the unoffical lap record.
- Race: George Russell driving for Mercedes holds the official lap record because he set the fastest lap during the 2026 race, a 1:35.587 on lap 49, almost 4 seconds slower than Lando’s pole time set the day before.
F2 lap record Madring
- Qualifying: Dino Beganovic driving for DAMS set the fastest ever F2 lap time at the Madring with a 1m44.331s in the final run of qualifying in 2026.
- Race: Alex Dunne driving for Rodin holds the official F2 lap record which he set on lap 29 of the 2026 feature race at the Madring. His lap time was 1:46.257.
F3 lap record Madring
- Qualifying: Tuuka Taponen driving for MP Motorsport has the fastest ever F3 lap of the Madrid which he set during the second qualifying session in 2026, a 1:49.750.
- Race: Théophile Naël driving for Campos has the official F3 lap record at the Madring circuit, a 1:51.214 which he set on lap 14 of the 2026 sprint race.
