On Friday, September 11, the Madring in Madrid officially opened for business.
Although both Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz are in uncompetitive cars, the Spanish fans should still be among the most passionate race fans we’ll see all year.
Formula 1’s brand new racetrack runs through the heart of El Foro. Much like the Miaimi International Autodrome, the track is a combination of both street circuit and purpose build race track.
Unlike Miami, which is a bland track that fails to offer much because of its limited surroundings, Madrid provides two distinct characteristics: elevation and La Monumental.
The first portion of the lap features a 26 meter (85 foot) upwards swing alone between turn 2 and turn 7. The track crosses a highway twice, with both sections leading out of the highway and later back over being tight technical sections that are uphill, then downhill.
The centerpiece of the track by far is turn 12, better known as La Monumental. Imagine taking turns 1 and 2 at Nashville Superspeedway, mirroring them so that they turn right instead of left, cutting about a quarter off the width and cutting off most of the infield so that it would mostly be wall instead of run-off. That’s La Monumental from a banking and layout standpoint.
A week after an Itallian Grand Prix where the race seemed to mimic an old school 1960s race with guys slingshotting around each other and the cars only being fast from engine and slipstream, La Monumental is a corner that also appears to be right out of that crazy time period.
While the F1 cars have the downforce to drive through the corner without lifting, the idea of them racing three-wide or even just side-by-side through that corner like FOM is expecting, or hoping, them to is just crazy. This will be a section to watch the more risker overtakers like Kimi Antonelli or Franco Colapinto in, because trying to pass here will not be for the faint of heart.
La Monumental is going to be a massive deal as far as tire wear throughout the race. This big of a banked corner is going to put tremendous amounts of pressure on the left front tire, much like how in NASCAR we see right front tires wear out more than any of the other four. Unlike Goodyear, which has been providing tires for oval racing for over a century at this point, Pirelli doesn’t often have to handle corners like this. So it will be fascinating to see how their tires hold up during the race.
And as Arvid Lindblad showed in FP2, turn 13 right after La Monumental isn’t a turn to take for granted, either. It’s a hard braking corner that could well claim another driver’s race this weekend.
The downhill back sector of the track is tighter than even the castle section of Baku, as the cars circle the IFEMA Exhibition Centre. This requires driving around a tight side around around the huge building. There’s no way we’ll see any passes here on Sunday, turning this area into more of a test to keep the drivers honest before depositing them back onto the pit straight.
The best way to describe Madring candidly is that it’s a Roger Rabbit circuit. Some parts of the track are Mickey Mouse, namely the tight final section. Some are Bugs Bunny, namely La Monumental.
If you want less of a cartoony compairison, it’s a hilly Jeddah Corniche Circuit with a big ass NASCAR turn in the middle of it. There’s very little hard braking anywhere. The best overtaking spot would probably be turn 13 out of La Monumental, and that’s only if drivers are brave enough to try and get side-by-side on the banking.
Even if the track requires some chances in the future on safety grounds, and it doesn’t provide decent racing this year, it’s absolutely memorable. Seeing all 22 attacking around La Monumental on lap 1 on Sunday should be a sight to see.
Michael has watched NASCAR for over 25 years and has covered it on-and-off for 14.
In addition to Frontstretch he also writes sporadically for his own websites GrandPrixFocus.com and StockCarFocus.com.
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