Formula 3 has expanded their weekend format for the 2026 season finale in Madrid, Spain, to account for the dropped Bahrain Round.
F3 were set to go to Bahrain in mid-April but the round was cancelled due to the Middle East conflict, but the series were unable to find a replacement round unlike F2 who replaced their round with a trip to Miami.
Series bosses consequently have come up with a creative approach to guarantee ten Feature Races in total to appease teams, drivers and sponsors, with a double dose of Feature Race action in Madrid at the season finale across weekend of 11-13 September.
Practice will remain unchanged on Friday 11 September in the morning but Qualifying later that day will be split into two 20-minute sessions, with the first session determining the grid for the first feature race and the sprint race on Saturday 12 September.
The second session will then determine the grid for the second feature race on the Sunday morning and overall season finale on Sunday 13 September, with pole-sitters across both qualifying sessions awarded two points whilst the race points-awarding systems remain unchanged.
There will also be a two-day in-season test across 24-25 August to allow teams and drivers to properly explore the new circuit.
F3 CEO, Bruno Michel has welcomed the two-day test and expanded final round of the season to make up for not visiting Bahrain.
“It will be two very valuable days of testing for our teams and drivers to appraise this new challenge before the crucial final round of the 2026 season, which will be held at this new venue.
“This season will have a pretty unique conclusion with an enhanced finale, which will provide the teams and the drivers with an additional opportunity to score points, following the loss of the race weekend at Bahrain earlier this year.”
Spanish Grand Prix Director, Luis Garcia added that the F3 test will allow organisers to ensure that the circuit is in a proper fit condition to host a race weekend for the first time in relation to safety and sporting performance.
“From the very beginning, we were clear that we wanted to arrive at the Grand Prix with a fully validated and tested circuit. In a completely new project such as MADRING, it was essential to check, under real competition conditions, that all elements related to safety, operations and the sporting delivery of the event would work exactly as we had planned.”
Garcia also praised Michel and F3 for their efforts to collaborate in a move which suited all parties in terms of objectives.
“From our very first conversations with Bruno Michel, we found Formula 3 to be completely willing to make these test days possible. Their collaboration has been outstanding and allows us to fulfil a dual objective: to carry out all the necessary checks before the Grand Prix makes its debut and, at the same time, to add major sporting appeal by incorporating an additional championship race whose outcome will be decided in Madrid.”
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