La Monumental emerged as one of the defining features of Formula 1’s new Madring circuit, subjecting drivers to forces of around 5G for almost five seconds. Yet according to Formula Medicine sports doctor and mental coach Riccardo Ceccarelli, the spectacular banked corner represented a greater challenge for the cars than for today’s highly trained F1 drivers.
Ceccarelli explained that modern driver preparation, the 24-degree banking and the headrest built into current Formula 1 cockpits all helped reduce the physical strain. His assessment also highlights just how dramatically the demands on drivers have changed since the late 1980s and early 1990s, when neck conditioning was far less sophisticated and some drivers could reach the point where they struggled simply to support their heads.
Madring divides opinion after Formula 1’s Spanish GP in Madrid
Formula 1’s arrival at Madring generated sharply contrasting reactions. The return of the Spanish Grand Prix to Madrid attracted considerable discussion, with the new venue proving popular within the paddock but receiving a cooler response from the drivers. Fans also questioned how a circuit designed from scratch could offer so few major braking and overtaking opportunities while placing so much emphasis on the exceptionally long La Monumental banked corner.
The overtaking issue has already prompted action, with three Madring corners set to change for 2027 following the difficulties experienced during the Spanish Grand Prix.
Ceccarelli compared the atmosphere surrounding the new Madrid venue with races outside Europe, particularly Miami. He highlighted the scale of the facilities and organisation, the large crowds, the presence of numerous celebrities and the glamorous environment.
“Madring seemed to me like a non-European circuit. In terms of the facilities and organisation, it reminded me a lot of Miami, so a glamorous environment with lots of space, lots of people and many famous personalities,” Riccardo Ceccarelli explained. “Madrid felt like a circuit closer to Liberty Media’s requirements: I would therefore define it as the first European Grand Prix with the characteristics of an American race.”
Ceccarelli added that the weekend featured a considerable amount of public-relations activity and a large celebrity presence. In his view, those working in Formula 1 generally appreciated the event, whereas the drivers were somewhat less enthusiastic because of the shortage of overtaking opportunities.
“Those working in the sport liked it, perhaps a little less so the drivers, who obviously complained about the fact that there are few opportunities to overtake, and they will do well to change the layout next year to create overtaking points,” he continued. “We saw that even when there were performance differences, overtaking wasn’t easy.”
Why La Monumental’s 5G forces were manageable for modern F1 drivers
La Monumental measures approximately 550 metres and combines high cornering speeds with lateral acceleration reaching around 5G. Those forces act on the drivers for almost five seconds, making the semi-circular corner one of Madring’s most distinctive physical and technical challenges.
However, Ceccarelli pointed out that the headline 5G figure does not tell the whole story. Because La Monumental features 24 degrees of banking, the forces are not applied entirely laterally to the driver.
“You know, those 5G are partly lateral, but some of the load also has a vertical component because of the 24-degree banking,” Ceccarelli explained. “That corner romantically reminded me of the final corner at Estoril, the one leading onto the straight: it was flat, extremely long, and forces of 5G were already being reached.”
The comparison with Estoril also illustrates how much driver protection has evolved. Formula 1 cars of that era did not have the type of headrest found in modern cockpits, meaning the neck had to absorb far more of the sustained load without the driver being able to support the helmet against the surrounding structure.
“Back then, however, there wasn’t the headrest that today’s cars have and the drivers’ necks were subjected to enormous strain,” Ceccarelli recalled. “At circuits such as the Portuguese track, they sometimes fitted straps or small chains to the sides of the helmet to try to keep the head steady.”
Ceccarelli even remembered a driver retiring because the physical demands had become too great.
“I remember one driver who retired because he could no longer keep his head upright. We shouldn’t forget that in those days it wasn’t only the helmet that protruded from the cockpit.”
Modern F1 driver training has transformed neck strength
The contrast becomes particularly striking when comparing Formula 1 of the late 1980s and early 1990s with today’s championship. Ceccarelli stressed that modern drivers are complete athletes whose physical preparation is considerably more advanced than it was during his early years in the sport.
“Of course, and above all today’s drivers are genuine athletes who are extremely well trained and prepared,” he explained. “It’s nice to see that there is still an opportunity to put the neck to the test, but it’s no longer like it used to be.”
Neck-specific training was far less common when Ceccarelli first worked around Formula 1. That lack of preparation could become especially obvious at circuits where the direction of the majority of corners placed unusual loads on one side of the body.
Interlagos was one example. Because the Brazilian circuit runs anti-clockwise, Ceccarelli recalled drivers eventually struggling because they had not sufficiently developed the muscles on the right side of the neck.
“In my early days, almost nobody trained their neck muscles and, for example, at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Interlagos is an anti-clockwise circuit, so at a certain point the drivers would start struggling because they hadn’t developed the muscles on the right side of the neck,” Ceccarelli explained.
That situation is very different today. Modern Formula 1 drivers follow highly specialised physical programmes designed to prepare them for sustained lateral and longitudinal acceleration, heat and the overall demands of completing a Grand Prix.
Ceccarelli pointed to the condition of the drivers at the end of the Madrid race as evidence of how effectively those demands are now managed.
“Today the situation is very much under control: at the end of the Grand Prix we didn’t see exhausted drivers despite the heat and the physical effort,” he concluded.
La Monumental therefore provided an unusual demonstration of both Formula 1’s physical demands and the evolution of driver preparation. Its approximately 550-metre length, 24-degree banking and sustained forces created an imposing challenge, but modern training and cockpit design meant the drivers were better equipped to cope than their predecessors would have been several decades ago.
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