Last week there was speculation that a new race around the Spanish capital from 2026 is close to being signed, with talks at an advanced stage with F1's commercial rights holder.
Plans call for the GP to take place around the IFEMA convention centre, in the north-east of the city, near Madrid-Barajas International Airport.
The five kilometer long circuit would use the IFEMA pavilion complex and exhibition grounds, often used for exhibitions and conferences, as the start and finish straight and as the paddock location.
But despite details of the tender being leaked to the media, the FIA has sought to play down any speculation that it is close to being signed.
This is especially true because motorsport's governing body has not yet been tasked with working on several key elements that must be approved before any racing project is authorized.
Speaking to some media, including Motorsport.com, the president of the FIA Senate, Carmelo Sanz de Barros, who is also president of the Spanish automobile federation (Real Automóvil Club de España), said he would like to see F1 return to Madrid, but he made it clear that there are still many things to fix.
“There is a clear process to have a Grand Prix in a place, and I don't think this is followed based on what you read,” he said. “The Spanish Automobile Federation is the place where the process begins, because every time that there is a new competition that needs to be organized in a country, you need to turn to them.”
“So, has the Spanish Federation received from today this project to analyze, study and focus on? No, they have not seen it. This particular step has not yet taken place. So, when will the Spanish Federation deem this project to be valid and that there is interest, he will send it to the FIA, because they have to homologate it. If we are talking about a semi-city circuit, the first thing to do is to homologate it and certify it, things like that.
“So, if the Spanish federation has not received anything, it has not sent anything to the FIA and the FIA has not received anything in turn. And in the FIA no one has worked so far on this project which has been talked about in the press in recent days” .
Only once the above steps have been completed with the FIA and the national sports authority will the door be opened for the race to be included in the calendar.
De Barros says he and the FIA have no qualms about evaluating the plans when they receive them, but fears there is some political maneuvering going on in terms of leaks to the press.
“I've read a lot about Madrid trying to steal Barcelona's place, trying to kill Montmelo, or things like that; I definitely think this isn't being reported correctly. It's probably been influenced by the political situation that we are living, Madrid against Barcelona.”
“Also, I don't know if it was announced, but we had an experience in the past when we were trying to bring the 2030 Olympic Games to Madrid and, due to leaks and failure to follow the processes, this did not happen” .
“I hope the Madrid race isn't another case like that because I would like to have a GP there. But it's not the only project I know of to have F1 in Madrid, I know of at least two others.”
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