Overview
- Carlos Sainz, driving a 450bhp Ford Mustang GT on Saturday, became the first driver to lap the newly asphalted Madring in Madrid.
- Sainz said the 22-turn course feels faster than it looks and shifts from a tight street-style opening to a flowing, high-speed second half.
- A signature banked corner called La Monumental at Turn 12 features a 24% gradient and a partially blind entry that Sainz expects to take nearly flat out.
- The lap includes a flat‑out stretch of more than 800 metres after Turn 3 where speeds are projected above 320 km/h, making battery use a key tactic with overtakes likely into Turn 1–2 and the heavy-braking zone that follows the longest straight.
- The venue is still under construction with an FIA inspection due at the end of May, ahead of its September 11–13 debut under Madrid’s 2026–2035 hosting deal that places Barcelona on a rotation.