Formula E is planning to race in Spain for the first time since 2021 with plans well advanced to host a race at Jarama next March.
The Race can reveal that a double-header at the former Spanish Grand Prix venue, which hosted Formula E's pre-season test last November, could be confirmed next month when the provisional calendar for the 2025-26 season is communicated by the FIA.
The Jarama plans appear to be part of a stopgap move for a more permanent fixture in Spain that could result in a return to racing at the Montjuïc Park location in Barcelona that held Spanish Grand Prix from 1969-75, before Jarama took over as a venue in F1.
A plan to race at this site is being seriously looked at for 2027.
Formula E has been looking to add another European race back to its schedule since the Rome E-Prix fell off the calendar after 2023.
Last year's pre-season test was held at Jarama, to the north of Madrid, which was plugged in as a replacement for the usual Valencia location at Circuit Ricardo Tormo following devastating flooding in the region.
The Race understands that a tentative late-March date could be utilised for a first event at Jarama, something that Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds said last week was "definitely doable in the sense that it's a circuit we know".
"It's people we know, and obviously we've got experience of it from doing stuff with them last season. It felt like a good circuit, and the feedback through testing from pre-season from the drivers was really positive," added Dodds.
"Barcelona is also a great location, and Xavi [Serra] and Cupra, it's obviously their home. Cupra, I've got to say, other than being really positive about wanting to have a race there, are massively supportive."
Cupra, which is the title partner for the Kiro Formula E team, has been pushing for a home race for some time and is known to be driving plans for the Montjuich facility to be race ready for 2027.
CUPRA sporting chief Xavi Serra told The Race that the Volkswagen-owned brand is "of course, supporting a race in Spain".
"I think Formula E has been chasing this [a Spanish event] as well for a while and it's something that fits for them and would fit for us as well," said Serra.
"As far as we know, there are options open for Jarama [in 2026]. And Montjuic would be a project, an amazing project, honestly. Let's see what the future brings. Obviously, we will support a race in Spain.
"We are not leading the project and it's Formula E having an assessment. In all the cities they are looking for, because Formula E works with a bunch of cities, including Jarama and Montjuic, they call it the pre-candidate phase.
"They have to have a look whether the place [Montjuic] is suitable. It's in an early stage, as far as I know but it would be a good fit for the length, for the layout, for everything."
What the drivers think
"For driving purposes, it's good," Porsche's Antonio Felix da Costa told The Race in Monaco last week.
"That track was super fun to drive, and we did that dummy race there to kind of test everything out. That was actually good to do. But, you know, they're building some kind of street track in Madrid too. So, I think we should be going there."
That referenced the MadRing, the final layout of which was unveiled last month and is due to host Formula 1's Spanish GP in 2026.
But an event at Jarama presently looks like the most likely return to Spain for 2026, something which Lola Yamaha Abt's Zane Maloney would back.
"It would be cool because the more tracks we go to, the better for the drivers," Maloney told The Race.
"I enjoyed Jarama, it’s a traditional circuit. It's what I've grown up with, I've been used to that. The street circuits, obviously in F2 and stuff we have street circuits, but not quite like Formula E tracks."
Formula E has long since phased itself away from being predominantly a street and city racing series and actually only has Monaco and the Jakarta races this season that are fully 100% sealed off street races on usable public roads.
Several drivers expressed concern to The Race recently that more permanent tracks such as Homestead, Shanghai and Misano in recent seasons are diminishing the challenge of the world championship.
Among them was Mitch Evans, with the Jaguar Racing driver telling The Race that he believed that Formula E was moving too far away from its roots.
"Personally, I prefer the street track vibe and the challenge it presents," he told The Race.
"There were more of them in the past here and I think it has been a shame that some great ones are not around anymore. They present a real challenge for us as drivers and I'd like to see many more of them on the calendar."
