Madrid F1 Boss Shuts Down Circuit Rumours Ahead of September Race

The man running Madrid’s new Formula 1 circuit has had enough of the speculation. Luis Garcia Abad, general director of the IFEMA venue set to host the Spanish Grand Prix on September 11-13, pushed back firmly against suggestions that construction delays could see the race dropped from the 2026 calendar.

“No doubts about that,” Garcia Abad told RacingNews365. “The FIA, FOM, and ourselves, we don’t have any problem in terms of delivering the event properly.”

The concerns aren’t entirely without basis — construction images circulating online raised questions about the pace of progress, and Saudi Arabia has been linked with a potential reinstatement if Madrid falls short. But Garcia Abad insisted a replacement race simply isn’t on the table. “It is not possible in terms of the contract,” he said.

Asphalt laying is due to wrap up by the end of this month. The circuit benefits from IFEMA’s existing infrastructure — parking, metro access, energy supply, and Wi-Fi — which Garcia Abad says puts it ahead of more traditional venues. The venue is expected to welcome up to 120,000 spectators per day, and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali visited the site recently to see progress first-hand.

Madrid replaced Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on the F1 calendar, a venue that had long drawn criticism for poor spectator facilities.