Formula 1 Returns to Madrid: The Spanish Grand Prix at Madring

Last weekend, Madrid hosted the Spanish Grand Prix for the first time at the new Madring, bringing Formula 1 back to the Spanish capital more than 40 years after the sport last raced here. Thanks to Adidas Spain, we experienced the weekend from the Audi Club Paddock, taking in the racing, the atmosphere and everything happening around it.

Madrid and Formula 1: a history that starts at Jarama

Madrid's relationship with Formula 1 isn't new. The city first appeared on the F1 calendar in 1968, when the Jarama circuit hosted the Spanish Grand Prix. Located around 30 kilometres north of Madrid, Jarama hosted nine World Championship races between 1968 and 1981. The first was won by Graham Hill in a Lotus. The last produced one of the most memorable victories in the circuit's history: Gilles Villeneuve taking the 1981 Spanish Grand Prix for Ferrari.

So while the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid is new, Formula 1 has some history here.

The difference this time is where it is happening.

Madring: a circuit built into the city

The new Madring circuit sits much closer to the city, built around IFEMA Madrid and Valdebebas and combining public roads with purpose-built sections. It is 5.414 kilometres long, has 22 corners and features some serious elevation changes, including La Monumental, the heavily banked section that has quickly become the circuit's signature.

It makes for a very different kind of Grand Prix.

The first thing that struck us was how close everything felt. Madrid was everywhere around the circuit. The city wasn't just the backdrop to the race; it was part of the weekend. The roads, the buildings, the people arriving by train and Metro, the temporary structures, and the noise of Formula 1 sitting alongside everyday Madrid.

Inside the Audi Club Paddock

From the Audi Club Paddock, we saw the weekend from a slightly different angle. The cars were obviously the main attraction, but there was plenty happening away from the track. The teams, the engineering, the hospitality, the design, the crowds, and all the small details that make up a modern Formula 1 weekend.

When you see it from inside the paddock, it is easy to understand why F1 has become such a big part of contemporary sport and culture. It's also why motorsport keeps showing up in what we wear, from team kits to racing-inspired sneakers (have a look at our motorsport selection).

Spain's place in Formula 1

Spain has played its part in that growth. The country's Formula 1 history goes back to 1951, when the Spanish Grand Prix first appeared on the World Championship calendar at Pedralbes in Barcelona. Since then, the race has moved between several circuits, eventually settling at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for decades. Madrid now joins that history, with the new Spanish Grand Prix agreement running from 2026 through 2035.

For Madrid, it is a significant addition to the city's sporting calendar.

For us, it was mostly about enjoying the experience.

Precision and spectacle

The Audi Club Paddock gave us a great place to watch qualifying and the race, get close to the action, and spend time around people who share the same obsession with cars, design and speed. The whole weekend had that particular Formula 1 mix of precision and spectacle that makes it difficult not to get caught up in it.

And seeing it happen here made it even better.

We know these streets. We run through them, photograph them, walk them every day. Just a day earlier, more than 70 of us had run through them for Noirfonce Paddock Day 1. Seeing Madrid transformed for a Formula 1 weekend was something else.

A massive thank you to Adidas Spain for the trust, the invitation and the opportunity to experience the first Spanish Grand Prix at Madring from the Audi Club Paddock.

We enjoyed every minute of it