The 2026 Spanish Grand Prix at Madring is approaching, and Madrid’s new Formula 1 circuit has received an encouraging assessment after two days of Formula 3 running. Bruno del Pino, the Spanish MP Motorsport driver and nephew of Pedro de la Rosa, completed 93 laps of the track and described an unusual hybrid layout combining characteristics of Monaco and Jeddah, while also highlighting the potential difficulty of overtaking.
Madring is completing its final preparations to welcome Formula 1. After Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton completed Ferrari’s filming day at the new Madrid circuit, Formula 3 was given the opportunity to run there over two days on 24 and 25 August. Bruno del Pino, the only Spanish driver in the category, then shared his impressions after experiencing the circuit for the first time from the cockpit of his MP Motorsport car.
The verdict was largely positive ahead of a Spanish Grand Prix that will give Formula 1 teams and drivers an entirely new challenge. Madring’s mixture of enclosed sections, walls and faster corners creates a very different environment from a conventional permanent circuit.
Bruno del Pino compares Madring to Monaco and Jeddah
Bruno del Pino admitted that his first impression of the layout had been uncertain before he actually experienced it.
“When I saw the circuit in photos, I had mixed feelings about it, but when I tried it in the simulator, I really liked it,” Bruno del Pino told Cadena SER.
The Spanish driver sees Madring as a combination of two very different Formula 1 venues: Monaco and Jeddah. Once inside the car, however, the impression became considerably more intense.
“In person, from inside the cockpit, it’s impressive: the walls are extremely close and you can’t imagine what the first few laps feel like,” Bruno del Pino admitted, describing driving the Madrid circuit as a pleasure.
Ferrari already gained its own early experience of Madring through its filming day, during which Charles Leclerc delivered his first assessment of the Madrid circuit. The Formula 3 running provided another valuable indication of how the layout feels when driven at competitive speeds.
Madring overtaking could prove difficult despite F1 energy management
Although Bruno del Pino considers Madring a highly enjoyable circuit to drive, he does not expect it to be particularly favourable for overtaking. The late braking points leave relatively little time for a following driver to gain the metres required to attempt a move.
“It won’t be a track like Spa or Jeddah, where you can overtake. In F1, with the energy management, they’ll have a little more room to manoeuvre, but in Formula 3 we see it as a train: if you’re not right behind the car ahead, it will be very difficult. You brake very late and have very little time to gain those metres you need,” Bruno del Pino explained.
The Spanish driver believes overtaking in Formula 1 will therefore require commitment and identifies Max Verstappen as particularly well suited to that challenge.
“It’s a circuit for the driver with the most character; for me, it could be Max Verstappen.”
With teams facing the venue for the first time, those racing characteristics will become one of the central questions when Formula 1 arrives for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix at Madring.
Why Madring’s Monumental corner will be physically demanding
One of the circuit’s defining features is the Monumental corner. From a spectator’s perspective, its length and substantial banking make it visually striking, but Bruno del Pino explained that the experience from inside a high-downforce single-seater is different.
“It’s impressive for the fans because it’s very long and has a lot of banking, but for us, with so much downforce, it’s almost a straight,” the MP Motorsport driver explained.
The first laps are nevertheless particularly striking because the driver cannot immediately see where the corner finishes.
“On the first few laps it does make an impression, because you can’t see the end, only the wall. But physically it’s brutal. You feel it a lot in your arms and neck, because it’s like the one at Zandvoort but much longer.”
That combination of sustained load and limited visibility makes the Monumental one of Madring’s most distinctive challenges, both visually and physically. Bruno del Pino completed 93 laps during the two days of testing, giving him extensive first-hand experience of the forces generated through the corner.
Bruno del Pino identifies one Madring safety area to improve
Despite his positive overall impression, Bruno del Pino did identify one area of the circuit that he believes could be improved before Formula 1 arrives. His concern centres on Turn 11, immediately before the banked Monumental section, where the available run-off leaves little margin for mistakes.
“There needs to be a little more run-off, for example at Turn 11 before the Monumental, because any small mistake there comes at a high price,” Bruno del Pino said.
The Formula 3 driver noted that several incidents occurred at that corner during testing and believes additional asphalt run-off would give drivers a greater chance of recovering from minor errors.
“There were a lot of crashes at that corner during the tests and I would add a little more asphalt so that every mistake isn’t automatically punished.”
Despite that concern, Bruno del Pino remains convinced that spectators will greatly enjoy watching Formula 1 cars tackle Madring when the Spanish Grand Prix takes place in Madrid in just under two weeks. After Ferrari’s earlier running and the latest two-day Formula 3 test, the new circuit is rapidly moving from simulation and preparation into the final stage before its first Formula 1 race weekend.
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