After months of negotiations, the agreement to renew the contract to host the F-1 Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is increasingly closer between the FOM (Formula One Management) and Fira Circuit, according to what has been learned The Vanguard. In the last meetings “progress has been made” on the terms of the new contract, which would ensure the presence of the big circus in Montmeló beyond 2026, when the current agreement with Liberty Media ends.
Ideal scenario
Barcelona prefers a long contract, 10 years, until 2036, to make the investment of 50 million euros in the Circuit profitable.
Fira Circuit, the management company of the motor temple of Catalonia, intends that the renewal be “for a long period”, of ten years, from 2027 to 2036. So, if this purpose ends up being realized, Barcelona would practically coincide in time (one more year) with the landing of F-1 in Madrid, signed from 2026 to 2035. The coexistence of F-1 in the two capitals would be possible, as predicted Stefano Domenicali, CEO and president of F-1.
The duration of the contract is one of the workhorses in the negotiation. The Circuit wants to make profitable the investment made by the Generalitat of Catalonia, of 50 million euros in works to improve and modernize the facility (in the period 2022-26), with a contract that is as long as possible. Ten years is the preferred period, although the option of five is being considered.
It would be a good way to make the management of the Circuit profitable, in the hands of Fira de Barcelona since April (although the agreement will come into force on January 1, 2025). The Fira assumed the operation of the facility owned by the Generalitat (78%) for 20 years, or 2+18. That is, after two years (2027), the two parties will review the conditions of the alliance based on the income linked to F-1 and MotoGP, the two main events, which contribute 70% of the business, and which They conclude their contracts in 2026. In exchange for the management, Fira de Barcelona commits to a fixed payment of 9 million euros in 2025 and 10 in 2026, plus a variable part on the annual income obtained (25% up to a turnover of 45 million, and 20% if it exceeds this turnover).
The delicate situation in Madrid
The municipal government of Madrid (PP) admits the difficulties in obtaining private investors to finance the race
In the Catalan part of the negotiation, the convenience of closing the agreement with Domenicali is considered due to the good harmony with the top person in charge, before he leaves office, in principle at the end of 2025. Barcelona’s intention is to announce the renewal as very late in the 2025 Spanish GP, which will be held from May 30 to June 1. It should be the last Grand Prix in the Circuit with the name “of Spain”, since from 2026 this name would be acquired by Madrid in its urban race around the Ifema fairgrounds.
Oughtconditionally, because the Spanish capital is having serious difficulties in finding private investors to finance its race (at least, 100 million euros, between the 47.5 to prepare the fairgrounds and the 51 in fees paid to the F -1).
Presentation of the Madrid GP, on January 23
The Circuit has always maintained that the arrival of Madrid in F-1 should not affect the renewal of the GP in Montmeló. In fact, Domenicali himself maintained in January (when he was in Madrid for the announcement) that “Spain deserves to be able to have an opportunity to further increase its presence in the future”, while describing the GP in Madrid as “complementary” to the from Barcelona. “We must not forget that we are very strong in Barcelona,” he added.
F1 exhibition in Barcelona last June
He roadshow for the Passeig de Gràcia in June and the involvement of the City Council and the city of Barcelona, as well as the organization in 10 days of the MotoGP Solidarity GP to replace Cheste, finally convinced Domenicali of the convenience of extending the relationship with Montmeló.
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