'I almost fell asleep' - Drivers react to dull Madring F1 debut

The 2026 Spanish Grand Prix  was a procession - but what do Formula 1 drivers think is the main problem with the Madring, and what are their proposed solutions?

The Madring is part new, permanent circuit, and part existing roads that flow in and out of the IFEMA conference centre in the north-east of Madrid. It therefore benefitted from a partial blank slate.

In a recent interview with Architectural Digest, designer Jarno Zaffelli said: "Testing was very positive, so I am quite excited to see what Formula 1 has to say," 

"No other course has this particular character, in my opinion, in terms of its flow.

"I hope it gives the drivers and fans a unique feeling. And I would hope that people walk away recognising that it's possible to build a street circuit that is not boring."

A street circuit that's not boring, at least. The race… a different story.

What the drivers said about Madrid's first race

There was consistent praise over the location and the atmosphere at the Madring with drivers including Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton and Arvid Lindblad among those enthusing over the off-track experience.

But Lindblad did concede that it "wasn't the most exciting race" while Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto was asked whether it was as dull to drive as it was for some watching.

"Yeah, I almost fell asleep as well," replied the Brazilian.

Haas's Esteban Ocon said that a lack of tyre degradation and graining on Sunday made for a boring race.

"It was like 120% from as soon as you pitted to the end. And because the graining didn't happen, that's where we ended up. If we had a race on Friday, it would have been much better."

The track layout itself garnered heavier criticism.

Max Verstappen's lap one off at the opening chicane summed up how little space there was to pass there, while the Turn 5-6 chicane was branded too narrow and the various left-handers after the banked La Monumental gave drivers little room.

"I don't know how someone looks at this design and goes, mint!" said McLaren's Lando Norris in the press conference.

A lot of the corners also offer little visibility, and drivers including Sainz pointed out safety concerns.

"Same as in Jeddah and Baku, it's poor," he said. "But it seems like the FIA is happy to go in this direction moving forward in terms of new circuits, which obviously, as drivers, we are raising our… not concerns - but our point of wanting to keep improving safety.

"We're going to go towards these circuits because going at 260km/h, 270km/h [162-168mph] on esses that you cannot see through is definitely eye-opening and definitely makes you question how safe everything is."

Compatriot Alonso deflated the hype around La Monumental as he said his Aston Martin press officer could have taken the corner flat out.

"It is sad, you know, in a way, with this generation of cars to come to a very nice circuit like this one, with challenges here and there, like Monumental corner, Turn 12, and the driver input is just nothing. 

"Michael [Clayton, press officer] can drive in Turn 12 because you go flat with no deployment," he said.

What solutions have drivers offered?

George Russell touched on a fundamental issue with the track.

"I guess the one small frustration in the design is just the lack of clear overtaking opportunities. On every track, at the end of a long straight, you need a clear opportunity to overtake, and the longest straight here goes into that tight roundabout section. So that's probably the only thing we wish was different."

Norris was forthright, saying: "They should get rid of [Turns] 18-19 - useless."

He explained that the track could be improved with a "straight line from [Turn] 17 straight to 20, have a much wider entry like Austin Turn 1 or Turn 10 in Austin. 

"A big hairpin, you create much better opportunities for everyone and you'll be able to enjoy the race. There's some simple changes and maybe some trickier ones like Turn 5, 6, 7."

Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas said it was "quite easy" to block after the longest straight, echoing Russell's comments. 

He added: "What I'm not a big fan of is the sector two and three, how blind it is, especially people on the slow laps. Sometimes it's a bit sketchy, unnecessarily blind in places. But that was the first time we went to Saudi, it was the same issue and then they widened some of the walls, so I don't know - maybe there's some room for improvement."

Aside from Turns 13 (left-hand kink) and 20 (sharp left-hander), Turn 5 garnered the most criticism as, while it's a heavy braking zone, the entry to the chicane is bumpy, there are high kerbs, and the track is still narrow - essentially ruling it out for overtakes.

Williams's Alex Albon said: "I think we need to revisit this track a little bit… because I think, I don't know if you watched the F3 and F2 races, but it was all drivers going side by side in the chicane and then complaining that one of them didn't let them back past, so that corner in particular is the corner that I think needs the most work."

Bortoleto questioned the inclusion of that Turn 5-6 chicane.

"I just don't see how… Like even if they slow down the corner, what are they going to do, you know… especially with the big cars we have nowadays; if it was 1990s cars, maybe you could put something, but it's not like this anymore."

And, echoing Alonso's bluntness over La Monumental, Verstappen said: "Yeah, I mean, it's cool, the banking, but I think they should have done it the other way around, though. Initially more banking and then just flatten it out."

Perhaps street circuits themselves just don't suit the cumbersome footprint of a modern F1 car.

Verstappen said: "I'm not a fan of street circuits, so that will never change. I will always prefer to drive on a track like Spa.

"What they have done, the way they have built everything up, I think they have done a really good job, but I'm not a fan of street circuits."

Alonso, incidentally, shared a similar comment: "I still prefer normal circuits. You know, in general, you push the limits of the car… On a street circuit, you are always 95% because the track is always surprising you."

The criticism over Madring's layout isn't for nothing as changes are already being discussed for the next iteration of the Spanish Grand Prix - and it's clear that the drivers aren't afraid of making their opinions clear.