Madrid GP chief insists Spanish F1 race is on

Luis Garcia Abad, general director of the new Spanish Grand Prix, has insisted Madrid’s Formula 1 race at IFEMA’s Madring will go ahead as planned on September 11-13 and said there is no contractual route for a replacement event.

The reassurance follows paddock speculation triggered by recent images from the site that appeared to show construction running behind schedule, raising questions about whether F1 could need a stand-in venue if the circuit was not completed in time or failed FIA homologation.

Garcia Abad dismissed that outright. Speaking to RacingNews365, he said: “It [another race] is not possible in terms of the contract.” Asked if he was fully convinced the event would happen, he added: “No doubts about that. The FIA, FOM, and ourselves, we don't have any problem in terms of delivering the event properly.”

His argument is that the project remains on time in the areas that matter most. Garcia Abad said the asphalt laying would be finished by the end of this month and added that “things look great in terms of the delivery of the project, in terms of construction,” while also acknowledging that “we still have a lot of things to do.”

The remaining workload is focused less on basic venue services and more on the race-specific infrastructure needed to host 120,000 fans per day across the weekend. Garcia Abad said IFEMA already brings major advantages because the site has long-established facilities in place, including “energy, parking, and a metro station in the main entrance” as well as “wifi and toilets,” leaving grandstands and other event infrastructure as the main priority.

He said the biggest challenge in the final phase has been coordinating circuit construction with the normal business of the IFEMA exhibition center, rather than dealing with missing core utilities. “With these kinds of things, you have to follow the experts, the construction, the plans, and everything is coming at the time that we planned,” he said.

The race is due to mark Formula 1’s first visit to the Spanish capital since 1981 and will run under the Spanish Grand Prix name previously held by Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya. It is part of a 10-year agreement announced in January 2024, which means any doubts over delivery matter well beyond a single weekend as Madrid tries to establish itself as a long-term fixture on the calendar.