FORMULA ONE could replace one of it’s most iconic racetracks.
Barcelona has hosted the Spanish Grand Prix since 1991, with the track seeing legends such as Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton win there multiple times.
Last year the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya saw two-time World Champion Max Verstappen storm to victory and overtake Charles Leclerc in the Drivers’ standings on his wat to the title.
But it could be replaced with a brand new track in another city when its contract to host expires in 2026.
Madrid has reportedly made a bid to host the Spanish Grand Prix, publicly releasing a letter to F1 chief Stefano Domenicali.
The letter, written by regional minister Enrique Lopez, asked Domenicali to help “bring Formula 1 to Madrid” and confirmed his “willingness to sign the appropriate agreements”.
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The F1 boss gave his thoughts about the potential new venue at the recent launch of the F1 Exhibition in Madrid.
He said: “They are working to bring a race here and F1 is delighted to have so many contenders, because this way we become more and more popular.”
The closest the city has come to hosting was in 1981, when the Spanish GP was held in Jarama, 20 miles north of Madrid.
It is unlikely Spain will hold more than one race on the calendar as the sport looks to increase its global presence.
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However, Italy currently hosts two Grand Prix, at Imola and Monza.
There will also be three races in the US this year after Las Vegas was added to the calendar alongside Austin and Miami.
Domenicali admitted that having “two races in Spain is very complicated”, as meetings going over proposals for layouts around the Spanish capital continue to take place.
The offer from Madrid also comes after the Spanish Grand Prix organisers drew criticism over their poor organisation during last year’s event at Barcelona.
The 2022 race sold out, but organisers failed to prepare the venue for the number of fans, with traffic grinding to a halt outside the circuit as fans struggled to find parking.
F1 released a statement calling the congestion issues “not acceptable”, and ordered the organisers to create a plan to avoid a similar disaster at this year’s race in June.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
