Welcome to the ‘car-killer’ Madring: F1’s ‘craziest circuit’ debuts as drivers warn of big crashes

“When I heard there were 20 red flags in the F3 test [in August], I was surprised,” began , as the Mercedes driver gave his verdict on the hosting the for the first time this weekend. “But when I tried out the simulator and saw where the red flags were on the track, I was surprised that there were only 20 red flags.”

“It’s a crazy circuit: the most risky on the whole calendar.”

This carefully orchestrated, freshly painted 22-turn circuit, situated in the north-east of the Spanish capital in the Barajas and Valdebebas districts, will certainly pose a significant challenge for the 22 drivers over the next three days. Significantly, the weekend’s action also sees the junior series of Formula 2 and Formula 3 take to the starting line. Shunts, whether small or big, feel something of an inevitability.

The sense of the unknown, however, brings a uniqueness to a season schedule which has been set in place for a few years now. Imola may well conclude the campaign in place of Qatar and Abu Dhabi, with The Independent understanding a decision will be made on the Middle East races within the next week. Portugal and Turkey, two traditional tracks previously in the sport, rejoin the calendar in 2027.

Yet unsurprisingly, following in the footsteps of Miami and Las Vegas stateside, F1’s first new venue in three years is another track slaloming around the streets of a major city, where the walls are tight and the space is limited. The thrill of the ride? Significant. Overtaking opportunities come raceday? Limited.

“You have real high-speed corners, Jeddah-esque,” explained Russell, who trails championship leader and Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli by 66 points with 10 rounds remaining. The Saudi circuit, which debuted in 2021, is a ‘blink-and-you-will-miss-it’ circuit, home to some big crashes involving Mick Schumacher in its first two years.

Russell added: “Here, the walls are very close, there’s no margin for error. Then you have corners like Baku: high-speed with slow braking zones. I’m excited to trial it out – I do think it’ll be really challenging to overtake.”

His compatriot, reigning world champion , spoke from a similar hymnbook: “It’s a difficult track. There’s a lot of blind corners, a lot you can’t see around. It’s a bigger challenge inside the cockpit of a car compared to the simulator.

“The main thing you lack on a simulator is the speed and sensation and fear of a street circuit. Grip levels, too. The acceleration of speed, when you approach some corners, is massive in real-life compared to the simulator.

“There’s a lot of braking zones here combined with heavy steering. I’m excited though, always enjoy coming to a new circuit, it’s an opportunity to prepare in the best way possible.”

From the tight turn four-five chicane and the turn 12 La Monumental banking to the intricacies of the third sector and 90C turns to conclude the lap, it will be a big test of driver skill and composure. Even four-time world champion , the man with a killer instinct and no-holds-barred mentality on track, agreed with the notion that the Madring was a potential “car killer.”

"It's going to be tough,” he said. “I think when F3 were testing here there were a lot of shunts, so it's not an easy track, easy to make a mistake also with the layout of the track. The kerbs that are there, we need to run over a few of them, and that's normally not the strong point of our car, but we will try to do the best we can.

"It's a tough track. For me, what I feel while driving, it's a little bit the same kind of sensation that I get sometimes around Jeddah in places. Of course, Jeddah is faster on average with the corners, but the walls are quite similar in how they are positioned.

"It probably is a car killer from what I've seen so far but you just need to try and stay out of the walls and try to get the best possible feeling in the car. When you're confident in the car on a street circuit, it helps a lot. "

On a weekend expected to hit 30C, temperatures will be high from the outset – and that’s even before the rip-roaring, jam-packed activity on track. Expect at least a few flashpoints.