Formula 1’s new Madrid circuit will feature a 13.5-degree banked corner at La Monumental, with the FIA revealing the official inclination of one of Madring’s most distinctive sections ahead of the venue’s debut on the 2026 calendar.
La Monumental, designated as Turn 12, is set to become a defining visual and driving feature of the Spanish Grand Prix at Madring. The elevated corner has been designed to accommodate very high speeds while maintaining aerodynamic load, with the wider layout also intended to create opportunities for overtaking through braking zones.
Madrid F1 corner La Monumental has 13.5 degrees of banking
The central figure is now official: La Monumental has an inclination of 13.5 degrees. That gives Madrid a significantly banked Formula 1 corner without taking the concept to the more extreme levels seen at some current and historic circuits.
The FIA highlighted the figure on social media as anticipation continues to build around Madring’s arrival. Madrid joins the 2026 Formula 1 calendar as a completely new challenge, meaning drivers and teams will have to learn not only the overall layout but also the behaviour of an unusually banked Turn 12.
Banking changes the way a car can negotiate a corner by altering how the forces acting on it are distributed. At Madring, the 13.5-degree slope is intended to help sustain high speeds through La Monumental, making it one of the circuit’s most eye-catching technical features.
How La Monumental compares with Indianapolis and Zandvoort
To put Madrid’s figure into perspective, the FIA compared La Monumental with other famous examples of banking from Formula 1 history. The historic Indianapolis oval featured corner inclinations of approximately 9.2 degrees, meaning Madring’s new corner is noticeably steeper.
Madrid does not, however, reach the banking found at Zandvoort. Turns 3 and 14 at the Dutch venue feature inclines of between 18 and 19 degrees, placing La Monumental roughly between Indianapolis and the modern Dutch circuit on this particular scale.
Zandvoort has demonstrated how banked corners can become an important part of a circuit’s identity, with the steep sections providing a very different challenge from conventional flat turns. The characteristics of the Dutch Grand Prix circuit therefore provide a useful modern comparison as Formula 1 prepares to experience Madrid’s interpretation of the concept.
Karussel and old Monza banking were considerably steeper
The FIA’s comparison also looked much further back into motorsport history, when considerably more extreme banking could be found at major European circuits.
The Nürburgring’s famous Karussel is listed at 20 degrees, already significantly beyond the 13.5 degrees used for La Monumental. The old Monza banking was more dramatic still, reaching an inclination of 37 degrees during the 1950s and creating one of the most recognisable pieces of circuit architecture in racing history.
That historic banking forms part of the heritage surrounding the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, although modern Formula 1 no longer competes on those steeply banked sections.
The most extreme example included in the comparison comes from Berlin’s AVUS circuit. Its legendary North Curve reached 43 degrees, comfortably exceeding Madrid, Zandvoort, the Karussel and the historic Monza oval.
La Monumental gives Madring its own distinctive F1 landmark
Madrid’s 13.5-degree corner therefore sits well below the extraordinary banking used at some historic venues, while still being steep enough to distinguish it clearly from more conventional Formula 1 turns.
Its significance is not based purely on the headline number. La Monumental combines banking, elevation and high-speed running in a section that has been conceived as one of Madring’s signature features. For spectators in the surrounding grandstands, it is also expected to become one of the most visually striking areas of the new venue.
The comparison with circuits from different generations illustrates how Madrid is drawing on a concept with deep roots in motorsport while applying it to a modern Formula 1 track. Indianapolis provides a less steep reference, Zandvoort offers the closest current comparison among those highlighted by the FIA, while the Nürburgring, Monza and AVUS demonstrate how much further banking was once taken.
When Formula 1 arrives at Madring, La Monumental will ultimately be judged by how drivers and cars respond to it at competitive speed. Before the first Grand Prix laps are completed, however, its 13.5-degree inclination already gives Madrid one of the most recognisable corner concepts among the championship’s newest venues.
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