Madrid's F1 Gamble: A 'Fantasy' Becomes Reality

Formula 1 is heading to Madrid, a city dominated by football and home to Real Madrid, the club with 15 European Cups and 36 La Liga titles. The last Spanish world champion came 20 years ago, and Madrid hasn't hosted a race since 1981.

The new circuit, called Madring, sits next to the airport on an expo site run by Ifema. Luis Garcia Abad, the venue's boss and former manager of Spain's only world champion Fernando Alonso, admits the idea "started as a joke, it was a fantasy." A 10-year contract is now signed.

The track's centrepiece is Monumental, a 26-degree banked corner with room for more than 30,000 spectators. Operations director Carlos Jimenez says construction faced the wettest winter in 20 years, with 65m euros invested around the circuit and 85m euros spent on the track itself. Power comes from renewable energy.

Local fans are curious but cautious. One says the race can take Madrid's identity "outside of football." Another plans to watch from home: "Organising tends to be messy in the first year - I don't want to be the guinea pig."

F3 driver Bruno del Pino calls the layout "really edgy," comparing it to Jeddah but harder. Britain's Freddie Slater says it may be the best track on the calendar. Abad believes the spectators will decide whether Madrid needs F1 - or F1 needs Madrid.