Madring clears key FIA check for September debut

Madrid’s future Formula 1 circuit has cleared a key FIA inspection after its 31 May construction target, with the project judged to be on schedule and without any major issues ahead of the 11-13 September Spanish Grand Prix.

The visit came from an FIA delegation led by Formula 1 race director Rui Marques, who inspected the site as the championship’s new Madrid venue moved past one of its most important build milestones. After six months of work, the track now has all three asphalt layers in place: base, intermediate and surface. Paving was completed at the end of May, giving the FIA a finished racing surface to review.

Luis García Abad, general director of Madring, said the deadline had been met. “We finished paving last week, as planned, and the works were completed contractually on 31 May, so everything is in order,” he said. García Abad also said organisers expect to be ready for a test event and for the final checks with Formula 1 and the FIA before September’s race.

That matters because readiness had become the central question around Madrid’s debut, with speculation in recent months over whether the circuit would be completed in time. The latest inspection appears to have eased those concerns. According to the available reports, the visit proceeded normally and produced no observations of special relevance, with both the FIA and project representatives viewing the works as aligned with the planned schedule.

The inspection was part of the standard homologation process for a new Grade 1 circuit. FIA technical staff carry out periodic checks during construction to verify compliance with the safety requirements needed to host a Formula 1 world championship event, and another on-site visit is already scheduled for August to assess the remaining milestones.

The main work still to be finished sits around the temporary event infrastructure rather than the track surface itself. Grandstands, the pit building, safety zones and other homologation-related installations remain on the list for the summer, with current planning expecting some of that work to continue into September.

For now, though, the latest FIA review strengthens the view that Madrid remains on course for its Formula 1 debut. It also suggests that a separate court dispute reported between Dromo and Tilke over design rights, including arguments around the banked Monumental section, is not currently threatening the staging of the race.