The new 5.4-kilometre, 22-corner circuit will host the Spanish Grand Prix in September, marking F1’s return to Madrid for the first time since 1981 and beginning a 10-year agreement running through to 2035.
Sainz, who was born and raised in Madrid and serves as an ambassador for the event, sampled the fully asphalted circuit in a Ford Mustang GT as preparations continue for the inaugural race.
“It’s something very difficult to describe for me because it’s something that I always dreamed about, just having the opportunity to race at my hometown,” Sainz said.
“Madrid is a great city, a city that I’ve always talked well about, a city that now is getting to be known quite a bit more and that now having this Formula 1 track will be amazing.”
The hybrid circuit combines public roads around the IFEMA Madrid exhibition centre complex with purpose-built sections near the city’s Barajas airport, as organisers aim to create a layout focused on overtaking and spectacle.
Sainz immediately identified several passing opportunities around the lap, including the opening complex and the heavy braking zone following the circuit’s longest straight.
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“This first part is very enjoyable; this is where we’ll really see how we fight the car,” he explained.
After Turn 3, drivers will tackle a flat-out section stretching more than 800 metres, where speeds are expected to exceed 320km/h, with Sainz saying battery management would be “crucial” through that part of the circuit.
The Madrid native added that the circuit changes character dramatically once it transitions into the faster, more open second sector.
“You go from a very tight, more like a street style area… to suddenly a blind corner that you see absolutely nothing and then suddenly the whole track opens up,” he said.
“It’s like you go through a screen and you go into a different world.”
Sainz highlighted the fast corners through the middle part of the circuit as one of the standout features of the layout.
“This is incredible,” he said.
“This is where we’ll enjoy a Formula 1 car at its absolute best.”
The defining feature of the circuit is the banked Turn 12 section known as La Monumental, a 550-metre sweeping corner inspired by a traditional bullring and featuring 24 percent banking.
Sainz admitted the corner caught him by surprise during his first laps.
“This is what impressed me the most,” he added.
“I thought La Monumental would just have banking, but suddenly it’s not only banked—it’s also blind.”
“You’ve created quite a cocktail.”
The first full lap of Madring! 🤩
Carlos Sainz takes the honour of driving the first laps of the new track in Spain! 🇪🇸#F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/fDnlKW2b8T
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 16, 2026
The corner is expected to become one of the visual centrepieces of the F1 calendar, with grandstands for around 45,000 spectators surrounding the section.
At the exit of La Monumental, drivers crest a rise where visibility briefly disappears entirely.
“You can only see the sky,” Sainz explained.
He also compared the high-speed Valdebebas esses to some of F1’s most famous circuits.
“It really reminds me of Spa and Silverstone because they are super-fast corners,” he said.
Sainz admitted the circuit exceeded his expectations after seeing the completed layout for the first time.
“It was honestly impressive,” he said.
“I didn’t expect to have so much fun. I didn’t expect it to be so flowing, so wide.
“You can lean on the car for so long. If we’re going this fast in this, imagine what it’ll be like in a Formula 1 car.”
The Williams driver also reflected on the significance of bringing F1 back to the Spanish capital after a 45-year absence.
“I was 10 at the time and I was surprised how the city welcomed my Dad,” Sainz said, recalling a demonstration run involving his father, two-time World Rally champion Carlos Sainz Sr.
“There were thousands and thousands of people along the main street of Madrid and that’s maybe the first time that I got a taste to realise how much motorsport fans there are in Madrid also and I’m sure it will not be anything less or even much more here, so it’s going to be incredible,” he said.
The Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring takes place from September 11-13.
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