Madrid Arrives With More Questions Than Answers
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Madring has not even hosted its first Formula 1 session, yet it has already earned a reputation. A two-day Formula 3 test produced 19 red flags and three damaged chassis, with incidents spread across the lap rather than confined to one troublesome corner. The new circuit is fast, tight and unforgiving, with walls waiting close to the racing line. Now Formula 1 gets its first attempt at taming it.
Ferrari arrive with unfinished business of their own. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have put their Monza clash behind them after Leclerc accepted that he went too far in forcing his team-mate off at Turn 1. The pair have spoken privately and cleared the air, although Ferrari has stopped short of introducing formal rules governing their battles. With the championship moving on to a circuit where mistakes could be punished heavily, their renewed understanding will be tested almost immediately.
Isack Hadjar is still waiting for his return. The Red Bull driver will miss a third consecutive Grand Prix as he continues recovering from his wrist injury. Liam Lawson will once again take his place alongside Max Verstappen, while Yuki Tsunoda remains at Racing Bulls with Arvid Lindblad. Hadjar will be in Madrid with the team, but this time as a spectator rather than a driver on a circuit nobody in the F1 field has raced before.
For Carlos Sainz, Madrid is not simply another Spanish race for the Williams driver, it is his city. He was the first driver to complete a lap of the finished Madring, and he will now take an F1 car around a circuit barely 20 kilometres from his home. He has already experienced the track and knows where its character lies, but nothing will compare with the moment he turns up on the grid for the first Madrid Grand Prix.