Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Formula 2 drivers are glad that Barcelona will remain on next year’s schedule, which was confirmed in the 2026 calendar reveal.
There had been uncertainty regarding Barcelona’s future with Formula 1 and its support series after it was announced last December that F2 would support the Spanish Grand Prix in 2026 when it relocated to a new street circuit in Madrid.
Barcelona will host F1 and its supports on June 12-14 next year, with its race contract expiring after that.
“I envy MotoGP for having four grands prix in Spain up until now. They had Aragon, Valencia, Jerez and Barcelona, so it was amazing for them and for the Spanish fans. I’ve always said that I would love for the same to be done with F1,” said Spanish driver Pepe Marti, who demoed an FIA Formula 3 car in Madrid this month.
“Madrid is a fantastic location, it’s a great city, the capital of Spain. So it makes complete sense to me that they have a race as well, but from my personal aspirations, I would love it if it was both, if I had to choose just one.”
Campos Racing team-mate Arvid Lindblad said it would have been “a bit of a shame” to lose Barcelona, labelling it “a big hub for motorsport in Europe”.
As a track that is usually tested and raced on, it provides important calibration opportunities for teams and for drivers to measure their development.
“I enjoy it quite a lot, especially since they put the last two corners to high speed again. It’s been really nice coming here, and you have pre-season testing here and you can come here all year round,” mused Prema’s Sebastian Montoya.
DAMS’ Kush Maini said it would “definitely [be] sad to see it leave, but new challenge [in Madrid], so looking forward to that”.
Formula Scout asked Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne about Madrid’s inclusion when it looked to be at the expense of the well-known Barcelona.
“For the rookies who are in F2 next year, it’s probably better,” he explained. “It’s a street circuit where it’s a little bit more difficult, but nobody on the grid will know the track apart from the laps they’ve done on the simulator. So as a rookie, when everybody has to learn it rather than just you, it’s I would say probably not an advantage, but it makes it a little bit easier.
“The only thing is that it adds [potential] for another track where you can’t overtake. I feel like we have a few tracks on the calendar now where overtaking isn’t great, so from that aspect it’s a little bit annoying. Naturally as young drivers you want to learn street tracks because that’s a good skill to have as a driver, but at the same time in a junior series you want to be at tracks where you can race, and you can develop your racecraft and race hard with the other drivers on track.”