The announcement of the new GP
Less than a year ago, in January, Formula 1 announced with great fanfare the entry into the calendar of a new circuit starting from the 2026 season: the Circus will in fact do it stop in Madridon a track that will be built around the IFEMA exhibition center and which – once FIA approval and final design specifications have been passed – will measure 5.47 km and will be characterized by 20 curves. Duration of the agreement: at least 10 years, until the 2035 season. All nice, but who pays? Yes, because according to the site’s estimates RacingNews365 the fee to be paid to the Circus to organize the GP will be 25 million dollars a yearfor a total outlay of $250 million over a decade. Not exactly standouts.
Political clash
The political battle on the issue is therefore exploding within the municipality of Madrid, also considering that for the moment, a main sponsor has not yet been found who can cover at least part of the costs. At a meeting of the Commission for Tourism and Sport held this week at the Chamber of Vallecas, the Deputy Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sport of the Community of MadridLuis Martinhowever, he defended the Madrid GP
“IFEMA of Madrid, the promoter of this event, is doing its job and is taking all the necessary steps so that Madrid can host this F1 Grand Prix and so that we can be a point of reference in the organization of this type of event internationally – declared the local politician, as reported by the Spanish site ASadding that – it is one of the most important sporting events in the world and only the 23 cities that have the opportunity to celebrate such recognition can enjoy it. It will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the citizens of the region”.
The fear of a “new Valencia”
The more optimistic forecasts indicate that the event may arrive at generate a total of 4.5 billion euros in GDP. However, not everyone is convinced by these estimates. The disastrous precedent of the Valencia GP it’s a bugaboo and the fear is that without a sponsor the taxpayers will essentially pay the costs of the Grand Prix. Pablo Gómez PerpinyàOf More Madridone of the main political parties in the city, went on the attack claiming that the Grand Prix is for the citizens “an unprofitable scam. If the private sector decides not to invest in this operation, one might think that they know better than anyone else where to invest or not invest the money”. Perpinyà fears that the pursuit of the project for the organization of the Madrid GP will prove to be the end “a finger pointed at taxpayers, because they are told that taxes are being lowered and instead they will be hit with a Formula 1 tax”.
His comments follow those of Engracia Hidalgohead of the Department of Economy, Innovation and Finance of the Municipality, who recently declared that “no company was found that initially wanted to take on the risk” of the management contract offered. Referring to what happened with the Valencia Grand Prix, which disappeared from the F1 world championship calendar for a few years, Hidalgo added: “If in 2026 we still don’t have sponsors or if it were to happen like in the Valencian community, where the day comes when a sponsor leaves, whoever will be responsible for saving this enormous marketing operation will once again be the public sector”.
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