Formula 1 News: Madrid’s F1 preparations ‘ahead of schedule’

(GMM) Madrid’s preparations to host the Spanish GP from 2026 are “progressing faster than expected,” according to regional president Isabel Diaz Ayuso (pictured), who visited Austin at the weekend to observe how Formula 1 events are run on a global stage.

Speaking to DAZN from the Circuit of the Americas, where F1 announced a new deal securing the United States GP until 2034 – Ayuso confirmed that construction of the new Madring street circuit is moving swiftly.

“The work is going well – in fact, it’s going faster than expected,” she said.

“We’ll start paving the stadium in the coming days, and then what we’re doing is looking at the access points, trying to make it as comfortable as possible for everyone.”

She said the visit to Austin provided valuable insight into the logistics of hosting such a major international event. “We’re very happy to be here and see firsthand the organization of an event like this,” Ayuso explained.

“It’s impressive what it moves throughout the city – the atmosphere, the scale, the magnitude of an event like this – you have to see it from within to understand.”

Ayuso added that excitement in Spain for the 2026 race continues to build, noting that Spanish driver Carlos Sainz has become an unofficial ambassador for the project.

“We see a lot of excitement about the Grand Prix in Madrid,” she said. “Everyone has talked to us about it, they’ve asked us. And then, since Carlos Sainz is among them – being an ambassador for everyone – it makes it even more interesting, more exciting. There’s a lot of expectation.”

The new Madring circuit, based around the IFEMA exhibition complex in the northeast of the city, has endangered the future of Barcelona’s long-running F1 event.