MADRID — Carlos Sainz, a Madrid native, will race a Formula 1 car in his hometown for the first time this weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix.
“I think it’s no secret that it’s still going to be a struggle for us,” Sainz said Thursday. “I couldn’t think about a layout that is probably more difficult for our car. But it’s OK. I’m just going to work extremely hard to make sure this is the last year that I come here to Madrid without a chance of fighting for something bigger.”
Williams has gone eight races without a point, dating to Monaco. The team is ninth in the constructors’ standings with 11 points, and an upgraded chassis arrives in Baku, the next round.
This weekend, Williams is running a tribute livery for the 1981 season, the last year F1 raced in the Madrid area.
Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso Lead Spain’s Home Contingent
Sainz was named an ambassador for the Grand Prix in 2025, when construction on the circuit began. He also gave input on the track’s design.
The Williams driver was the first on the grid to lap the Madring. He did it in a road car, before the circuit was finished.
His family home is about 15 minutes away by car. Racing that close to family and friends is “probably going to feel even more special” than his earlier home races in Barcelona, Sainz told Formula1.com’s Lawrence Barretto.
“The main thing will be the intensity of the lap,” Sainz said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.
Sainz compared the Madring to the street circuits in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Sainz and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso are the only Spanish drivers in F1. Both drive for teams that have struggled to keep up with the front of the field this season.
Madrid is Alonso’s second home race of 2026 after the Barcelona round in June. It is also his first race on a Spanish street circuit since he won in Valencia in 2012.
Aston Martin had a rough weekend at Monza. Alonso, a two-time world champion, said Thursday he expects the team to be “more competitive than Monza in any other circuit in the world.” He is also expecting “high-adrenaline” laps at the Madring because of how close the walls are.
Sold-Out Crowd Meets Local Opposition
Organizers said tickets for the Spanish Grand Prix have sold out. About 350,000 spectators are expected across the three days of track activity.
The Madrid area last hosted an F1 race in 1981, when the Spanish Grand Prix was held at Jarama on the outskirts of the city. Barcelona has served as the home of the Spanish Grand Prix in recent seasons, while Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain hosted F1 races from 1986 through 1990 and again in 1994 and 1997.
Some residents have filed official complaints about noise, road closures, and the race’s environmental impact. Spanish courts have rejected at least two requests for precautionary measures against the project.
Local officials have defended the Grand Prix, pointing to tourism and economic benefits for the region.
“It’s one of the greatest events the city will host,” Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida said.
The Madring holds an F1 contract through 2035. This weekend’s race closes the European portion of the season, and the series moves to Baku in two weeks.
