A new territory
There is always a certain curiosity when the F1 Circus lands for the very first time on a new track and in this sense the Spanish Madring is no exception. The new circuit that will make its debut on the calendar this weekend has been talked about at length and with discordant tones, but the impression is that the new facility will not be a walk in the park for the drivers. Max Verstappen had recently already pointed out how the circuit built in the residential district of Valdebebas, near the training fields of Real Madrid, is difficult to tackle; now confirmation has also come from Carlos Sainz, a home driver par excellence since he is native of the Spanish capital.
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Sainz, as ambassador of the Grand Prix, had the opportunity to drive in May on the just completed track behind the wheel of a road car – a Ford Mustang – completing the very first reconnaissance lap of the strip of asphalt; then, of course, the Spaniard carried out simulator tests to try to learn the characteristics of the new track. His verdict was clear: “I did the first real laps on the simulator with the car [in August] and I have to say it is an incredibly demanding track – said the former Ferrari driver to the official F1 site in a recent interview – it is one of the most complex circuits I have ever faced on the simulator; for a driver it will be a nice challenge“.
A mix of speed and little streets
The Williams driver also tried to draw some similarities between the new Madring and some tracks already on the World Championship calendar. Perhaps forced parallels but that can be useful to get an idea of what we might see both in qualifying and in the race: “I think it combines features of Jeddah and Baku – probably the two most difficult tracks for a driver – and a bit of Singapore. It is a circuit that, driving it on the simulator, shows a strong personality”, said Sainz.
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The section of the track that the Spanish driver defined as his favorite opens with turn 7 and then develops up to the now much talked about Monumental corner: 500 meters characterized by a slope that reaches 24% and that winds between the grandstands located on both sides of the track. “It is probably more demanding than I thought – said Sainz referring to the signature corner of the circuit – I thought it was a full-throttle corner, simple, one of those to tackle by accelerating and nothing else. Instead it turned out to be much more complex, at least on the simulator, but in a positive sense. With all that slope and the need to manage the car in that section, it will be a nice challenge“. We can’t wait to see it.
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