The first ‘official’ track action has begun at the new F1 Spanish GP home at Madring circuit, with F3 holding an in-season test ahead of the championship race.
Amid rumours about being not ready in time for the big debut on September 11-13, the first ‘official’ session is completed on August 24, with the FIA Formula 3 Championship undertaking a two-day in-season test at the new venue, ahead of its own championship race.
Both the feeder championships Formula 2 and Formula 3 are due to stage their championship races at Madring as support event to Formula 1. The anticipation has been high ever since the announcement to move the Spanish GP to Madrid from Barcelona, who have hosted the grand prix for decades.
Ferrari undertook a filming session in July using the promotional tyres, with both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in action. It is the only time that a F1 car has run on the new circuit at Madrid, but it was still tagged as a promotional event rather than an official test run, with no serious lap time.
First official timed lap at Madring
The ongoing F3 test is run as per FIA regulations, with live timing. Campos Racing’s Ugo Ugochukwu set the best time of 1m51.901s in the morning session, which was bettered by Trident’s Freddie Slater to a 1m50.343s – which is 1.558s quicker from one session to another.Of course the fuel load and run plan is not always clear in such tests. But the important point is smooth running on a brand new circuit. There were few red flags but none due to tarmac or circuit related. Two of them were for crashes at Turn 17 and Turn 18 – which also ticked the safety aspect.
Madring is a 5.416 km (3.365 mi) circuit, with 22 corners, around the IFEMA Exhibition Centre in Madrid. One of the biggest attractions of the track is the La Monumental corner (Turn 12). It is about 547-550 meters in length and is regarded as the longest banked curve (about 24% inclined) in F1.
The predicted F1 lap time is 1m32s to 1m34s, reaching a top speed between 300 – 340 km/hr. is the brand ambassador of the circuit and grand prix. As such, the F3 test is a big milestone for the track, which hopes to add to Spain’s long-standing relation with Formula 1.
