Guide to the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix as F1 hits the end of the European phase of the season.
Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli arrives in Madrid with a 66-point title lead over teammate, George Russell after his dramatic home win in Italy from 19th on the grid, whilst Lewis Hamilton sits a further 10 points behind in third with his title chances now thought to look slim.
This race also marks F1’s return to Madrid after a 45-year absence – having last raced in the Spanish Capital in 1981 at Jarama, and marks the debut of the Madring which is a new track making its bow in motorsport.
The Madring has replaced Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as the Spanish GP host, although the latter remained on the calendar this season for contractual reasons under the Barcelona-Catalunya GP, meaning that this is the second home race for Spain’s Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz.
Now, here is a full guide to everything that you need to know ahead of 2026 Spanish Grand Prix.
Track Guide
Laps: 57
Race Distance: 308.524km
Tyre Selection: C2, C3, C4
Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (BST) |
| Friday 11 September | FP1 | 12:30pm |
| Friday 11 September | FP2 | 4:00pm |
| Saturday 12 September | FP3 | 11:30am |
| Saturday 12 September | Qualifying | 3:00pm |
| Sunday 13 September | Race | 2:00pm |
Three Key Pointers
- Maximising practice time will be absolutely important to understanding how best to set up the car for qualifying and the race.
- Tyre management will be absolutely key across both qualifying and the race such is the level of strain put on the tyres across each lap.
- F3 testing in late August produced 19 red flags across just two days so there is potential for plenty of stoppages if drivers make mistakes which are easily punished here.
2026 Season Recaps
- Australia
- Chinese Sprint
- Chinese GP
- Japan
- Miami Sprint
- Miami GP
- Canadian Sprint
- Canadian GP
- Monaco
- Barcelona-Catalunya
- Austria
- British Sprint
- Great Britain
- Belgium
- Hungary
- Dutch Sprint
- Netherlands
- Italy
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