A Formula 1 circuit in Madrid? An opportunity accompanied by lavish optimism from local institutions. Carlos Sainz also said it will be an incredible event. Not everyone, however, is happy with this development. Perhaps first and foremost, those who love the sport and, above all, those who live in the neighborhood where the new circuit will be built. Yesterday, they staged a demonstration near the construction site, where workers are working day and night.
In Madrid, the Formula 1 circuit has become a political issue
Many doubts, many suspicions about the new project that Liberty Media and the Madrid institutions have been working on in recent months. The route will be built near IFEMA Madrid, a trade fair space located between the Barajas district and the Valdebebas area. The latter, among other things, already hosts the City of Real Madrid, which is expected to extend over 1 m². The site for the Madring was chosen because it is well connected to Barajas Airport and, via the metro, to the city center. Jobs they started last May, after the layout had also been presented in April via a simulation video. Video which, by itself, it has caused quite a stir, as the driver of the car risks crashing several times, even touching one of the walls with the rear left.
In short, Formula 1 got off to a bad start in Madrid. But what makes the issue even more interesting is that it has become a point of contention within the city's political debate. In fact, on April 24, through a statement the progressive list of Màs Madrid, together with Rita Maestre, its representative in the municipal council, announced the filing of an appeal with the High Court of Justice of Madrid. The administrative dispute, according to Màs Madrid, would be caused by the fact that the urban plan relating to the circuit area lacks a strategic environmental assessment and an adequate environmental impact assessment. Furthermore, no individual notification was sent to nearby residents regarding the implementation of the plan, a measure required by urban planning regulations, according to Maestre.
Behind the Madring the spectre of Valencia
Le individual notifications are intended to inform citizens on what will be done, including timing and measures that will be adopted, so that the latter can take countermeasures in advance, or at least understand what they are getting into. That said, Màs Madrid's controversy is naturally aimed at the mayor of the capital, namely Jose Luis Martinez Almeida. This last exponent of the People's Party (centre-right), as well as Ayuso Isabel, president of the Madrid region. Therefore, opposition to Formula 1 in Madrid is becoming a political issue, dispute between two opposing political groups.
Furthermore, in the debate on Formula 1 in Madrid, the last motorsport experience in the city has been brought up again, that is, the Valencia circuit. The latter had hosted the European GP from 2008 to 2012. The municipality of the city he contracted onerous debts and the structures, currently, they are mostly left to their own devices, with only the paddock that will suffer a redevelopment intervention of over a million euros. A lot of money for a project that, in the long run, proved unsustainable. It's no coincidence that, returning to Madrid, he held a debate in early July between the already mentioned Rita Maestre and Joan Boldavì, spokesperson for the Valencian party called Compromís. The title of the debate was quite evocative: “El Gran Premio del pelotazo (of pitch), Valencia ya corrio esta carrera.”
Popular protests against the Madrid Formula 1 circuit
Valencia has already run this race, an experience that the citizens of the Valdebebas area would not want to repeat. In fact, Maestre and Boldavì were not alone in the debate. Costantino Blanco, representative of the committee, also spoke with them. Stop F1 Madrid. A very active platform that, yesterday (July 21), also organized a demonstration near the future circuit. Together with them, many associations from the surrounding neighborhoods and some environmental organizations, who, with the cry of “Our barrios (neighborhoods) are not a circuit” They are trying as best they can to raise public awareness and, in vain, the political class that governs the city and the region of Madrid.
At this point, the statements released to Motorsport.com di Luis Garcia Abad, director General of the Madring: "We have monthly meetings with the residents of Valdebebas and Las Cárcavas. The relationship is very good."But the narrative of a portion of the citizens is completely different. On the committee's website, several critical issues are denounced, ranging from excessive costs until you arrive at environmental issuesThere is a map showing the likely noise pollution that will occur during the Grand Prix weekend. Furthermore, the organization of the GP, as confirmed by the aforementioned Màs Madrid press release, would also affect Juan Carlos I Park, a public green space.
That's not all. On the committee's Instagram page, the inconveniences citizens are experiencing are being reported in real time. There's a video showing the roads being paved. invaded by a thick cloud of fumes coming from the construction site. Another one, instead, portrays the workers working on the circuit even after midnight, creating inconvenience for those living in the surrounding area. These works, among other things, will be repeated (albeit to varying degrees) each year for the preparation of the Grand Prix. Furthermore, according to the committee, the construction of the circuit could endangering approximately 700 trees, including 265 that cannot be transplanted elsewhere. For this, and for many other reasons, the committee has also petitioned to stop the work.
Was this circuit really needed?
Looking at the photos of yesterday's demonstration, the number of participants could have been between 20 and 40 people. Very few, especially if the intent is challenge the political majority of a region and Liberty Media. There is a risk that, given the polarization of the political forces in the field, the protest could pass as mere instrumentalization, aimed solely and exclusively at annoying the Popular Party that governs the city and region. The fact remains, however, that people are fighting for their place of residence, so this battle, even if it hasn't received much attention so far, deserves respect and attention. This is the news.
It is difficult to judge whether the issues raised by Màs Madrid and the Stop F1 committee could be incisive enough to call into question the debut of the Madring in 2026. Economic interests, then, often manage to wash away any suspicion, ignoring urban planning regulations and the needs of citizens. By the way, in 2011 it had already happened that a group of farmers and peasants protested against the Indian Grand Prix, where it was then run for a handful of editions. However, what we, as lovers of this sport, can ask ourselves is the following question: Was Madrid really necessary in Formula 1?
Formula 1 must regain its popular side
The layout offers few overtaking opportunities and, above all, there are already plenty of tracks in Spain. Furthermore, the Barcelona GP sees record turnouts every year. Just as it was well attended and loved la our Imola, which will give way to the controversial Madring. Finally, returning to the protests, what does such a major event leave for locals? This might be a rather unusual question, especially when applied to other urban circuits: Monaco, Singapore, Baku, or Las Vegas, where luxury and wealth reign supreme. The history of the Madring, however, is slightly different: Barajas and Valdebebas do not seem like very wealthy neighborhoods, but rather places inhabited by a middle social classAnd then, again, how will the track structures be reused when Madrid leaves the calendar? The risk of a Valencia repeat is indeed tangible.
In short, what should be drawn from this story is to ask ourselves some questions when faced with facts like this. it should be legitimateBecause not everything can be sacrificed for the sake of spectacle. The latter, too often understood as something cinematic and little connected to what should truly be seen on the track. In conclusion, looking at the political direction that Formula 1 is taking, we note an increasingly strong desire to privilege luxury and excess. However, when those feelings that lie behind this sport—that desire for speed, to be able to measure oneself against opponents, to overcome or, when necessary, accept one's own limits— they are all human nuances. Consequently, F1 should remember more often that it is a popular sport, made of a passion that is transmitted from person to person more than by the number of hats sold to embarrassing TV series.
For this reason, a Spa or an Imola will always be better than a Madring of the “pelotazo”.
